Time Warriors
by Manzai
Summary: Sequel to Not As Stupid As They Look: Thirty-five years after the destruction of Vejiitasei, Vejiita finds some surprising survivors in the universe - and how can you reclaim your soul once you've lost it?
1. Prologue and Chapter 1 - Beginnings

Rewriting material is difficult, but necessary. I received comments about the original Time Warriors indicating that many things weren't clear - hopefully, this will answer those questions!  
  
This is a sequel to Not As Stupid As They Look, the story that introduced the Guardian race, their involvement with the Saiyans and how they influenced Freeza to take Vejiita with him even after he decided to destroy the Saiyans utterly. Time Warriors takes place 35 years *after* the destruction of Vejiitasei, and continues with the survivors of both the Guardian and Saiyan races.  
  
Additionally, this story is a crossover between DragonballZ, the British TV series Dr. Who, and a series of books written by Julian May called *The Saga of the Pliocene Exile.* I do not own the rights to any of the DBZ or Dr Who characters; my original characters are my own, but use ideas from each series; and I make exactly nothing from this.  
  
Please, enjoy! - and as always, comments are greatly appreciated.  
  
********************  
Time Warriors Chapter 1  
  
************  
Prologue  
************  
  
He had ruined her.  
  
Some people had their health ruined; Olean was one. She was frail to being with, and the stresses brought on by her unwitting link to Freeza during the death throes of Vejiitasei were almost too much for her body and psyche to bear. The redactors on Homeland had worked tirelessly for years to rid Olean of the psychic aftershocks and flashbacks she suffered; they were not entirely successful, but they did as much as they could. She remained thin and frail and silent, almost as if her memories were eating at her from the inside. The despot had given her a parting gift, it seemed; his unintentional violation had opened a new channel in her mind, and now Olean caught furtive glimpses of many futures. Eyes wide, she often stared at nothing the others could see, muscles in her jaw clenching and unclenching, her fingers tightly locked together in her lap.  
  
Some people were hit hard, both physically and mentally, but had the resilience, courage and sheer stubbornness to help them pull through. Both Stranna and Yisador fell into that category; they were tough old birds, and had seen action many times. They had been on myriad battlefields side by side, and had created and endured enough mayhem and carnage themselves to last several lifetimes over. They endured because they had seen it before and survived. Granted, they had never seen the lengths or depths of depravity the little tyrant had shown them that fateful evening, but they pushed themselves to their limit and endured that, too. They knew they had to survive - if not for themselves, then for the sake of those depending upon them. And so they did.  
  
Theo had never seen action. She had never really been without a full complement of Guardians around her, except for her time at the Prydonian Academy on Gallifrey and when she was traveling with the Doctor. She certainly never had to endure the torment and humiliation seven years on Vejiitasei had earned her.   
  
That, in and of itself, would have been bearable, had it not been for him.  
  
He had ruined her. The crown prince of Vejiitasei had ruined her.  
  
In the space of one short week he had broken into her mind and into her soul, had taken the very essence of her self, her uniqueness, and claimed it as his own. Somehow - and the redactors on Homeland could not understand how this had happened, yet there it was - he had deduced how to breech her mental defenses, simply by being linked mind to mind and watching her work with coercive power. However, that was not the worst of it. Not only was he able to access her mind, but he actually forged a channel for himself while he was there - and the path he burned into her brain was permanent. This was not a path made for a particular skill that, once the skill was obsolete, would close over; this path would never close. And it was a one way path, as well - he could use it whenever he pleased, and she would never be able to stop him. Meaning that, in sum and substance, she was tied to him until her brain ceased to function.   
  
Forever.  
  
If that wasn't enough to drive her mad, there were other things that pushed her toward the brink. Her memories of her futile fights to hide her thoughts and feelings from him; how he had turned her own mind against her and brutalized her; how in the end she had actually started to anticipate his intrusions, feeling the vibration of their psychic link before hearing his voice; and most hated of all, how she was unable to turn away from him once he called her, no matter how hard she tried.   
  
As the TARDIS slipped into the timestream when Vejiitasei exploded, all outside psychic links were abruptly severed; Stranna, Olean and Yisador were released from the Freeza's insane ravings, and Theo was freed from Vejiita's strong grip. Being freed, however, did not mean that Theo was actually free; in fact, part of her subconscious understood that true freedom, for her, was something she had to reclaim on her own.  
  
*************  
Chapter One  
*************  
  
"So where is she now?"  
  
Stranna and Meryth were strolling slowly along a leafy path in a midmorning fog, walking from Stranna's small home in the woods to Yisador's cottage in the general assembly area. Yisador had asked some of the members of her council to join her there, saying she needed to discuss something important. No one had any idea what that was, but Stranna thought she could guess.  
  
Sighing disconsolately, Stranna poked at her palmboard with her right index finger. "I don't know. She wouldn't tell me where she was going, and I didn't want to pry. " Her dusky hair slipped over her shoulder as she shook her head, a fine mist clinging to the damp tendrils that framed her face, her eyes large and worried. She closed the lid of her palmboard and locked it with a soft click before stowing it back in her pocket. "She's been gone for quite a while now. At least she's not alone this time."  
  
"Hmph," Meryth snorted, her plump figure waggling in disapproval. "She might as well be alone. Taking a Gant with her, of all people; they're walking psychic corpses, if you ask me. No power potential at all."  
  
Arching an eyebrow at her friend, Stranna retorted, "Well, no one asked you, did they? Gants are the warrior's arm for the Time Lords, Meryth; they've lived that way for generations. Yisador seemed to think that this Allyssa was good enough for Theo to drag around the universe, so that should be good enough for you."  
  
"Well, it's not," snapped Meryth, shaking her auburn head, clearly annoyed. "As a matter of fact, I voted against it. I personally don't think that Theo should go traipsing around the universe at all, no matter whom she takes with her. She should stay right here, on Homeland, and ... and ..."  
  
"And do what, exactly?" Stranna asked, frowning down at the smaller woman.  
  
"Stay here where we can keep an eye on her," Meryth answered, giving Stranna a withering look. "Learn to use her power properly, and not be afraid of it. She's protected here."  
  
"Ah, yes ... our know-all, see-all, psychic protective screen," Stranna said, biting sarcasm in her tone. "It certainly served us well on our other planet, didn't it?"  
  
Drawing the hood of her cloak closer to her head, Meryth turned to Stranna and said, small lines furrowing her brow, "It's different now. We're all working together."  
  
"Look, Meryth," Stranna said heavily, shrugging her own hood on as the mist increased to a light, steady rain, "we were working together before, and the Saiyans still found us. I know, I know," she said quickly, holding up her hand to forestall Meryth's angry retort, "not all of us were doing our job, and now we're all quite diligent. We check the screen every minute of every day, just to make sure it's powered to its fullest potential. Heh," she snorted, "we don't make the same mistake twice. We're not that stupid."  
  
"And speaking of stupid, we certainly don't have to worry about the Saiyans anymore," Meryth mumbled darkly. "Thank the gods they were blasted into oblivion years ago - good riddance to those nasty, horrid beasts, too."  
  
Stranna gazed into the rain, lost in thought for a moment. "I hope you're right, Meryth," she replied, her voice tight and controlled. "I truly hope you're right. I need to believe they're all dead, if for nothing else than for Theo's sake."  
  
Meryth glanced over at her friend and saw Stranna's hand involuntarily reach and clasp the base of her throat, pulling at an invisible collar. Meryth swallowed and was silent, remembering. They both quickened their pace as they strode through the forest toward Yisador's cottage, lost in thought.  
  
***********   
  
The years had hardened him, given a burnished sheen to the armor he kept around his soul, a glint to his cold, assessing eyes. As he finished his workout, his senses, keen to begin with, directed him toward his mate. He could feel her agitation and confusion, and guessed what was causing her such concern. A quick look into her mind showed him that he was correct, and he smirked to himself, satisfied. He carefully withdrew before she could detect his presence - but during the past 15 years, she had never realized they had anything more than the most rudimentary psychic connection, so he did not expect her to notice him now.  
  
Grabbing a clean towel from one of the racks near the door, Vejiita wiped the sweat from his face and torso and threw the towel into the large hamper. Feh - I'll take a shower later, he thought, looking at his stained jumpsuit with distaste. Giving one last, cursory glance around the gravity room, he pushed the door open, turned the lights out and headed into the night, toward Bulma's workshop.   
  
The man striding across the clipped, manicured lawn bore little resemblance to the boy who had been given to Freeza thirty-five years ago. That boy had grown in stature and strength, surpassing even the highest expectations, and had matured into a skilled, cunning fighter with a penchant for cruelty and vindictiveness - even more so than any previous Saiyan warrior.   
  
When he was younger, the dream of becoming the first Super Saiyan in one thousand years sustained him through times in which normal men would have wished for death. Times, in fact, when it seemed the little tyrant was actually pushing him toward that choice, just to see what would happen. He had learned, and learned quickly - pain, shame and humiliation were things to be endured, while hatred and revenge against those who brought him such suffering were things to be cultivated and nurtured. Justice was an idea to be scorned; for justice to exist in his world, the tyrant himself should have been dead. Obviously, it was beyond the boy's strength, so the desire for revenge crept into his bones. Hatred and vengeance became the bedrock upon which he rebuilt himself; the proud, arrogant and essentially untainted child prince was quickly sacrificed so that the new Saiyan prince could survive. And this prince, if nothing else, was a survivor.  
  
The events that had conspired to bring him to this point in his life were as much a mystery to him as they were to anyone. He knew, as he walked across the velvet lawn toward the inviting light of Bulma's workshop, that he was there only by the grace of Kami and by the influence of the man blocking Bulma's doorway. The man's shoulders were broad, spanning the entrance, and his hair stood up in unruly spikes all over the place.  
  
That half-wit moron drives me insane, he thought to himself, snorting slightly in disgust. Kakarotto, what are you doing here? My mate doesn't need to be bothered by your endless chattering.  
  
But then again - she was always at her best when she was annoyed, and Vejiita attempted to keep her off balance as much as possible. Heh - why not? he thought to himself, grinning, as he trotted across the lawn. It could be interesting.  
  
***********  
  
"What are you talking about, Gokuu? Of course I'm going - why wouldn't I?"   
  
Bulma turned away from the disassembled machine in front of her to stare at her old friend, bewildered, an open arc probe in one hand and safety glasses in the other. "I built that thing with my father, and you'd better believe I'm going with him to demonstrate it." She turned back to work on her machine as she perched precariously on a tall stool. Propping her elbows on her workbench, an abstracted frown wrinkling her nose, she poked at several parts of the machine with the probe, simultaneously sliding the safety glasses across her face.  
  
"But Bulma, it could be dangerous," argued Gokuu from the relative safety of the doorway. He had been around Bulma long enough to realize that his protests probably weren't going to make any difference, but he felt compelled to try. "You don't know these people you're gonna see - and getting there's going to be hard, too! It's farther away than Namek, and there've been an awful lot of problems between the Alliance and the Federation."  
  
Settling the safety glasses in place, Bulma sent small, controlled bursts of electricity leaping from her probe to one of the circuit boards as she replied, "Well, that's all the more reason to go, isn't it? Besides, my father can't do everything by himself, you know. And we aren't quite finished - there are still a few bugs to work out."  
  
She looked up at him again and gasped, immediately admonishing, "Hey Gokuu - don't look directly at the light. It'll burn your retinas, you'll go blind, and Chichi will blame me." Grinning sardonically to herself, she continued, "Chichi blames me for enough things - I don't need to add 'causing Gokuu to go blind' to the list."  
  
They were talking in Bulma's workshop, a small building attached to the main house on the Briefs' property. It was far enough away from the main living area that any construction noises were muffled, but close enough that Bulma was available to anyone in the house who needed her during the day or night. And it was the one place where Bulma could just be herself - consequently, books, papers, odd bits and pieces of machinery and tools were scattered randomly around the room, littering every square inch of table space.  
  
Scanning her workbench, she snagged a pair of goggles and tossed them over to him. "Here, put these on," she ordered. "I still don't want you to look directly at the light, though. It's not good for your eyes."  
  
Gokuu caught the glasses and looked at them in almost comic puzzlement for a moment before figuring out he was supposed to slide the elastic over his head. Obediently, he snapped the glasses in place. His black hair, usually sticking up haphazardly, was forced close to his head where the elastic held the goggles in place; everywhere else seemed to make up for that tidiness, thrusting out in random spikes.   
  
"Hey, this is cool, Bulma," Gokuu enthused, watching the flame of the arc welder lick across the surface of the circuit board. He inclined his head toward her, trying to look over the top of the goggles and objected, "But I still don't think it's a good idea for you to go on this trip. There are too many things that could go wrong - you and your father could be in real danger. Besides -"  
  
"Listen, Gokuu," Bulma started reasonably, slinging a sidelong glance at him as she continued to work, "I went to Namek, didn't I? I flew there with Gohan and Kuririn - who left me alone most of the time - and I survived, didn't I? Why are you so against my father and I traveling to do some real, meaningful work?"  
  
"But that's not it at all, Bulma," Gokuu said, frowning. "You didn't survive on Namek all by yourself. You needed help and protection."   
  
"Yes, I know that," she said crossly, stopping to look at him, holding the welder straight up in the air. "Don't remind me. The only thing I could do was watch things happen." Angrily, she attacked the board until Gokuu thought the entire thing was going to melt from the heat. She shook her head in frustration and continued, "Now, I think I can actually make something happen. It's totally different."  
  
"But couldn't someone else from Capsule go? Why does it have to be the two of you?" he whined. Gokuu knew just how headstrong and stubborn Bulma could be when she put her mind to it, and from the expression on her face, she was in full gear right now. He sighed, realizing he had lost the battle but determined to give it one last try.  
  
"Because we are Capsule Corporation, that's why! No, Gokuu, no one else can go - we're going, and that's the end of it!" Bulma snapped, glowering. She wavered, though, when she looked at his downcast face, and softened completely when she thought about how sensitive he was. Putting the welder down on the table, she pushed her goggles up on top of her head and turned toward him, still perched on the stool.   
  
"Look, I'm sorry Gokuu - I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that ... well ...," She hesitated, but appeared to make a decision and blurted, " ...it's positively strange. I've been having this same conversation with Vejiita over the past couple of days, and it's really getting to me."   
  
Gokuu straightened up and walked over to her, concerned and curious. "Oh - really? Vejiita doesn't think it's a good idea either, does he?"  
  
"No, he doesn't!" an exasperated voice snarled behind him. Gokuu turned to see Vejiita standing in the doorway, glowering, his habitual blue jumpsuit stained with sweat, fine droplets shimmering at the top of his forehead.   
  
Bulma had involuntarily jumped at the sound of Vejiita's voice, but recovered quickly. Training again, she thought to herself. The man just never stops ...  
  
Ignoring Gokuu, he walked straight over to Bulma's workbench, stopping when he was about half a meter away from her. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest, narrowed his eyes and scowled at her, looking formidable. She returned his look with one of her own, glaring angrily.  
  
"Hey, Vejiita!" Gokuu said brightly, "good to see you!"  
  
Vejiita just grunted and kept staring at Bulma; she glowered back at him, defiant.  
  
Gokuu looked from one to the other and back again, shaking his head. Here we go again, he thought, resigning himself to the next few moments of high intensity arguing.  
  
"So - my conversation has been getting to you, eh? Good - that means there's at least a little sense left in that empty head of yours," Vejiita taunted, his eyes black and piercing.  
  
"Don't start, Vejiita," Bulma warned, color washing through her cheeks as a frown deepened between her eyes, "I'm not in the mood to hear it."  
  
"Oh, but you'll listen to this baka here, won't you?" he inquired sarcastically, motioning to Gokuu and taking several steps closer until he stood right next to her, pinning her against the table. "That's interesting, considering he's said exactly the same things to you that I've been saying."  
  
Bulma's response was to thrust her chin out at him and snarl back, "This 'baka' has made more sense in the last two minutes than you have in the last two days. At least he shows some concern for us, which is more than I can say for some people!"  
  
"I see no need for my mate to go halfway around the galaxy," Vejiita said, acid dripping from his tone, "just to prove that she's as smart as she thinks she is - ESPECIALLY when there are competent people who could handle the job equally well."  
  
"..to prove that I'm....oh!" Bulma slid off her stool and stood nose to nose with Vejiita, arms akimbo and eyes blazing fire. "Since when did you become the nuclear engineer in the family, huh?" Her voice rose in volume, following her temper. "My father and I were asked - ASKED, that is - to go on this diplomatic mission because we - I mean, Capsule Corporation - built equipment that both the Federation and the Alliance want! We've been over this again and again - how many more times do I have to spell it out for you?"  
  
A malicious smile crossed Vejiita's face as he watched Bulma smolder and fume; he knew his smiling would infuriate her even more, which would mean she would be reacting more from instinct than anything else. Good, he thought, chortling to himself.  
  
"There are plenty of people who could take your place," he retorted smoothly, goading her. "You're not unique. But just in case you actually go, you need to tell me when we're supposed to leave."  
  
"What do you mean? Are you deaf?" she screeched at him, her hands in balled fists at her sides, her eyes practically spitting blue fire. "There IS no one else who - " All at once she stopped speaking as the meaning of his last words became clear to her. Confounded, she stammered at him, "-what - what - what did you say?"  
  
Smirking in triumph, Vejiita repeated, "I said - when are we supposed to leave?"  
  
She looked at him in openmouthed stupefaction, her anger effectively deflated. "I - I don't -"  
  
"I spoke to your father. Fortunately, he has more common sense than his daughter," Vejiita said, his eyebrows quirked in derision as he studied her reaction. "The entire delegation will need protection because of the diplomats, engineers and equipment being taken with them. Therefore, I will be going - as will Trunks - and Kakarotto and some others have volunteered as well." Vejiita nodded in Gokuu's general direction, still keeping his gaze fixed on Bulma, and smirked. "Now, woman - what do you have to say for yourself?"  
  
Incredibly, Bulma recovered her poise. "It's about time you came to your senses," she sniffed at him, tossing her head back. "Now, if you don't mind, I still have some work to do." She slithered back onto her tall stool and pulled her goggles back into place, the only hint of chagrin in the heightened color of her face and her refusal to meet Vejiita's eyes.  
  
Vejiita softly snorted his amusement as he watched her pick up the arc probe and the circuit board again. "Hurry up with those repairs, woman. We can't wait forever to deliver this machinery." A poorly concealed snarl was his only reply as Bulma pointedly tried to ignore him, concentrating instead on the electronics in front of her.  
  
"Let's go, Kakarotto," Vejiita preemptory ordered, giving Bulma one last look before turning on his heel and stalking out of her workshop.   
  
"Uh ... okay, Vejiita. 'Bye, Bulma - see you later," Gokuu said with a friendly wave, following him out of the room. Vejiita, why are we leaving now? Don't you want to talk to Bulma about the trip? he sent telepathically, confused, to the smaller Saiyan.   
  
"'Bye, Gokuu - come back soon." Bulma's response floated after Gokuu's retreating back, again clearly excluding Vejiita.   
  
Vejiita heard her response and smiled wickedly to himself. Oh yes, but not now. I'll talk to her later, he sent smugly to Gokuu as he strode down the hallway.  
  
**************  
  
Theo sighed in her sleep; small, rasping sounds slid between her lips and slipped onto her pillow. Her hands were never still - they were constantly moving, alternatively flexing against then clutching her sheets and pillowcase, sometimes grasping the fabric so hard that her nails left crescent moon scores on her palms. She slept on, oblivious to the pain.  
  
There were times when she lay as still as stone, heavy and unmoving the night through; times when her arms and legs seemed to be in perpetual motion, windmilling throughout the night; and times like this, where she appeared to be resting peacefully. However, a closer look showed that Theo's body was mirroring the restlessness and turmoil that usually showed in her eyes.  
  
Allyssa stood at the doorway of her room and watched her sleep, her body silhouetted by the soft hallway light streaming around her. You're safe now, she thought, as if the sleeping woman could hear her. Nothing can harm you here.  
  
A smaller shadow padded next to her and reached up to touch her arm.  
  
"We're just leaving Gallifrey now," a light feminine voice murmured. "I think we'll be traveling a couple of days to reach Argus VI. The timestream's a little unpredictable right now; I don't know why, but there's some turbulence ahead, and I can't forecast around it."  
  
"We're not on a schedule," Allyssa replied, leaning wearily against the doorjamb. "So there's no need to hurry. She can use the rest, and so can we."  
  
She looked down at the younger woman next to her, and saw that her eyes were enormous in her drawn face; the dark circles underneath them made them look even larger. We're all stretched too thin, she thought, exhausted. I wish we had traveled back to Homeland ...  
  
"She'll be all right, Elyse," Allyssa said, forcing a note of confidence that she didn't feel into her voice. "She needs rest, and a place where she can forget the universe for a while. It will take some time, but we'll get her back. You'll see."  
  
Elyse looked up at Allyssa, her expression dark and serious. "I hope so, Allyssa. It's just getting worse every day. I wish she would have let us go home."  
  
Irritated, Allyssa turned her attention back to Theo and muttered, "So do I, but you know your mother ... once she gets an idea in her head, you need a crowbar to pry it out."  
  
"I know," Elyse sighed. "She's awfully stubborn."  
  
With a wicked sparkle, Allyssa looked askance at Theo's daughter and remarked, "It seems to be a family trait."   
  
Elyse stared back at her, then slowly smiled. "Well, maybe so. My grandmother's a lot like Mama."   
  
Poking Allyssa lightly on the arm, Elyse said, "C'mon - let's go get something to eat. I'm starving, and you can leave her for a couple of minutes. She's not going anywhere, you know."  
  
"I know," Allyssa replied, still watching Theo's regular breathing. "She's safe here."  
  
As Elyse tugged on her arm, she allowed herself to be drawn away from Theo and into the depths of Theo's TARDIS.   



	2. On the Way to Argus

Time Warriors Chapter 2  
********************  
  
"Well, it's just not fair, that's all! Everybody else is going - why can't I go, too?"  
  
Goten was whining, and not for the first time. His boyish face, so much like Gokuu's, was scrunched up in a scowl that contorted his eyebrows completely out of proportion, and his bottom lip was pushed out as far as it could go. The entire Son household was helping Bulma prepare for her upcoming trip, no matter if they were going with her or not, and Goten thought that was the height of unfairness. Why should he help someone pack to go on a trip when he wasn't even allowed to go?  
  
He and Trunks were busy bundling equipment together from Bulma's workshop. Trunks was actually doing the delicate work of packing his mother's instruments away and labeling the boxes, while Goten taped the boxes, hauled them outside to a waiting van and packed them inside. Several bored-looking men in Capsule Corp. jumpsuits leaned against the van, watching him huff and strain while they smoked cigarettes.  
  
"Gentlemen, I'd appreciate your help over here right now!" a shrill, feminine voice commanded. The men jumped away from the van and dropped their cigarettes, consternation written plainly across their faces as they hastened to comply with their boss' orders.  
  
A blue head with bobbed, silky hair popped out of the small window, scowling at them. "We're trying to move this lathe, and you need to clear a path for the robots. Plus, there are some other boxes that need to go to the spaceport. Now, if you please ...!"  
  
The Capsule employees moved with alacrity, running toward the back of the building where the robots were laboring with their burdens.  
  
Bulma was supervising the move, efficiently directing the workers who were shifting the heavy equipment from her workshop to the spaceport. When she stopped to catch her breath, Bulma looked around and realized that both Goten and Trunks were helping. She immediately strode over to Trunks and hissed, "Make sure you pack all the rest of the boxes. We're leaving in a few hours - I won't have time to double check anything, and I don't want any of my probes or circuit boards broken before they reaches Argus."  
  
Trunks looked offended. "Goten wouldn't break them on purpose, Mother - he's very careful!"  
  
"Of course it wouldn't be on purpose," Bulma agreed, narrowing her eyes and gesturing at the teen. "But just look at him. He's in such a state right now that I'm surprised he's taping the boxes and not himself."  
  
"I suppose so," Trunks offered unwillingly. "But -"  
  
"No 'but's,' Trunks. You pack that equipment." Raising her chin and peering in the other direction, Bulma shook her head in annoyance and called, "Goten! Go - ten! Don't tape over the label - we won't know what's in there!" Sighing, she hurried over to the sulky adolescent and pointed out the labels on either side of the box.  
  
"Sorry, Bulma," Goten muttered, eyes downcast. "I wasn't thinking."   
  
As he readjusted the tape and attacked the box again, his mind continued to turn on the injustices in his world. Why do I have to work all the time? he growled to himself. It's not fair ... stupid Gohan never gets pushed around like me. And why isn't he helping here, anyway? He gets to go on all these trips, and all I get to do work and clean up after him .... I never get to go on trips ...it's just not fair ...  
  
***************  
  
Darkness hung over Theo like a sheath, suffocating in its completeness. Fear and hatred, her twin companions, whispered conspiratorially in her ear that it was time and he was close, her master had come to take her back, but this time he was going to take everyone else, too, not just her -  
  
No! she thought wildly, I won't let him - I'm never going back, he'll never have me again ...  
  
But he has you already, the voices pointed out, malicious and spiteful. And now he wants more ...  
  
"No ....," she gasped, her mind screaming ~I will die first - and I'll take you with me!~ Creative power leaped from her hands for what seemed an interminable time and crackled in the blackness, power that was electric and many-hued and brilliant, power that was swallowed as quickly as she sent it, dying in the dark.   
  
Oh, no, no, no, she mourned, watching it wink out, terror tight in her chest, I've failed again ... it's too late ...  
  
Fear drove her forward as she strained to see in the blackness, her feet stumbling while hot tears trickled down her cheeks. She lurched, fell to her knees and cried out, sharp pain lacerating her hands and shins as she scrabbled for balance in the rubble and debris strewn on the ground.  
  
Fool! He'll have you now ...  
  
Without warning, weak light illuminated her; she blinked and squinted, holding her right hand in front of her face to shield her eyes. Dust rose in front of her, creating indistinct shadows on the horizon, and the voices in her mind fell silent.  
  
She looked down at her body and nearly cried out again. Her short, brown tunic was ripped and streaked with dirt and blood and her hands were filthy, covered in grime. Her legs were barely protected by pants that had been cut to ribbons; fresh gashes showed on the tops of her thighs. But it was the wreckage scattered on the ground that claimed her attention.   
  
Enormous piles of rubble rose in front of her, accusing, righteous victims of a catastrophe, as far as the eye could see. She appeared to be kneeling in a broad valley covered with nothing but rocks and boulders, pebbles and pea gravel, slabs of marble and chunks of granite. It spread from horizon to horizon, and was seen through a filter of dust that smelled slightly of sulfur. A deep silence surrounded her - no insect humming, no rustling wind - nothing.   
  
"All ... gone," she breathed, looking around her in sickened horror. "They're ... dead. All dead." She rocked back and forth, staring. Absently, she ran her fingers through her tousled red hair as she rocked, her teeth clenched, shoulders hunched against imaginary blows.   
  
You killed them, you killed them all, you said you would and you did ...  
  
She felt suddenly dizzy and nauseous and sank back on her haunches, her forehead pressed into the palms of her hands for several moments, leaning against one of the larger piles of rubble. The queasiness dissipated, but was soon replaced with a blinding, familiar ache that anchored itself behind her left eye.   
  
No! I didn't kill them, it wasn't me, she thought, numb, raising her forehead from her hands, her head throbbing. It wasn't me - I didn't do this ...  
  
....then who did? the voices smirked. Maybe it was the same person who did this ...   
  
...and as she raised her forehead the vista blurred and changed, shifting from a towering gray landscape to a forest garden with squattish heaps of bodies lying in front of her under a blood red sun.   
  
Theo's stomach pitched over as her breath caught in her throat; suddenly, she was seeing other cairns, other graves ... bodies piled over bodies, tumbled on top of each other ... and she immediately recognized where she was.  
  
The bodies were humanoid; large, fierce looking warriors in battle armor with blue-black hair, long brown tails curled around their waists, many with surprise etched in their dark, still open eyes. It was not a battle scene - there were no mutilations, no mangled bodies, no weapons near the corpses - it almost appeared that they had dropped from the sky in heaps. The smell rising from the area was distinct; it was the smell of fear, and surprise, and death, mingled with the odor of the species itself ...  
  
She felt her gorge rise as she looked at the nearest cairn, horror, revulsion, and denial following swiftly on the heels of each other, running through her mind.   
  
"That's ... not ... possible," she whispered, shaking her head repeatedly at the sight in front of her, trying to block out her view of the corpses with her arm.   
  
Of course it is - you made it possible, the voices said, cheerfully vicious and indulgent. You must recognize your own handiwork; it's quite distinct. And look - you've made it so easy for your master to find you again...  
  
"No!"  
  
Theo gasped and sat straight up, frantic, her body bathed in sweat and her hands in small, balled fists, clutching the bedclothes to her chest. Still panting loudly, her eyes lost some of their wildness as she slowly recognized where she was. She shivered and hunched over, her left arm wrapped around her stomach as if protecting it from an invisible attacker while her right hand grasped involuntarily at her collarbone, searching for something at her neck.   
  
Long, shaky breaths helped calm her racing pulse ... In ... out ... in ... out ... Her mantra became the focus of her world as she tried to force her body to relax, muscle by muscle. Her breathing finally steadied to a regular, even rhythm; she looked down at her right hand as she moved it away from her throat, staring at it as if she had never seen it before. What was I doing?  
  
Glancing at her doorway through the gloom, Theo felt a wave of relief wash over her. At least I didn't wake Allyssa and Elyse this time, she thought ruefully. That's happened too many times lately -   
  
Snorting softly to herself, she wiped the sweat off her forehead, pushed herself off her bed and padded over to a large bookshelf in her room, snapping a glowlamp on as she passed. Squinting through the shadow at the titles on the shelf, she scanned the books with her index finger until she found a thick tome with a smooth, oiled binding.  
  
"Heh," she muttered as she snatched the volume from the shelf, staggering backwards a step under the weight of the book and the ferocity with which she pulled it. Behind the book was a tall, translucent, rectangular phial, large enough to store there, yet thin enough to sit behind her books undetected. It was almost filled to the top with what appeared to be a dark blue liquid.  
  
"C'mere, you," Theo grunted as she tossed the book on the foot of her bed and pulled at the phial with her other hand. She maneuvered it easily from the back of the shelf, but needed to use both hands when pulling it free. Theo clasped the cruet to her chest and unscrewed the cap; her head swiveled from side to side as she silently frowned and wondered, what? no glass?   
  
Unexpectedly a vision of black, obsidian eyes under thick, craggy eyebrows swam in front of her; curious, intelligent, mocking eyes, eyes that were a remnant of her nightmare surfacing one last time. Gasping in horror, Theo clenched the phial with both hands, raised it to her lips and drank deeply, almost sucking at the neck of the bottle, staying that way for several long moments.   
  
She pulled the cruet from her lips and panted, then lifted it up and drank again until it was all but drained.   
  
Get out! Go away, leave me alone ...  
  
Theo swayed gently on her feet and drew the bottle away from her lips, feeling the fiery warmth of the ghee explode in her chest and pour into her muscles, moving quickly toward her brain. Capping the phial, she put it back on the shelf with trembling hands, then forced herself to do the same with the book she had flung on her bed. It was difficult, as the ghee had already started to work its magic on her limbs, turning her legs and arms to rubber and made thinking an arduous, if not impossible, task.  
  
Heh ... I'll have to... make ... some more, she decided as she flopped bonelessly on the bed, not bothering to snap off the glowlamp, ... or find it ... somewhere else ... Theo sighed as she drifted out of consciousness, her head deep in the pillow, her hands and body finally limp and still.  
  
*************  
  
Life evolved throughout the universe, and in its diversity, took many forms. Beings with a biological base were by far the most numerous, but they were in no way the only kind. Individuals that could live in the vacuum of space, those that were as large as a small planet or those that were as small as a microbe were all represented; as long as the organism could respire, reproduce, and move on its own, it was classified as "alive."  
  
To be sentient, however, required a species not only to respire, reproduce and move, but also to be self-aware. Many species made it to this level, only to be swallowed up by a larger, more ambitious race. The only way to guarantee that your progeny would make it to adulthood was to insure that all their competitors were either neutralized or eliminated.  
  
The H'trch, a rare race of silicone-based beings who resembled jumbled rocks smeared with oily green slime had formed, matured, then moved to a comfortable desert planet they called Calipt'dor, near the edge of the North Galaxy. Initially, the H'trch were primitive, believing they were the only sentient life in the universe. However, the intrusion of organics in their world forced them to re-evaluate their theory; they eventually decided that while they might not be the only sentient beings in the universe, they were obviously the most intelligent and the ones who were fit to rule over all others. The H'trch spent century after century trying to fulfill their own prophecy.   
  
But their homeworld was empty now - a dead planet, hanging in space. Some slight biological life was trying to push its was through the flinty crust of the earth, as water tried to burrow its way to the roots of the flora, but there was nothing else. Hot winds blew across the plains, which were void of everything except irregular shaped mounds of rocks as far as the eye could see -- in some places, they were piled over ten meters high.  
  
A living H'trch stood in that wind, surveying the barren landscape. Gravel scraped around his feet as he shuffled forward, his great head swiveling from side to side, senses stretched. He stood as tall as two regular men at his shoulder, and his head was set on top of his body without the benefit of a neck. Various rocks and boulders appeared to have been put together and carved for his torso, arms and legs, while green slime bathed all the joints and crevasses that were visible. The other parts of his body were covered by an array of odd-looking equipment; his head, in particular, was covered by a large helmet coated with various types of circuits and sensors, designed to catch every change and variation in the atmosphere.  
The H'trch's body contracted then uncoiled like a spring as he stretched itself to his maximum height, shaking his arms at the heavens. He bellowed and roared, screaming something that sounded so awful and melancholy that it rocked the towers in the distance to their very foundations.   
  
The helmet sparked and glowed as the warrior mourned, circuits turning on and off in rapid succession. Another roar came from the H'trch, but this one was aimed directly at one of the towers in the distance; almost immediately, it crumbled and collapsed, quickly followed by others close to it. He roared a third time - and this time, energy that had been sparking on the outside of the monster's helmet suddenly coalesced in his hands, shot out in a tight beam and destroyed the distant towers. Again and again he shot energy bolts toward the horizon, each one larger than the previous, never seeming to exhaust his power supply.  
  
The H'trch finally lowered his hands to his sides in a posture that imitated defeat. He walked over to one of the larger piles on the plain, not ten meters from where he stood, and knelt by it. Tenderly, he chose two nondescript pieces from the top of the pile, held them up for inspection and then cradled them next to his body, moaning. He stayed like that, motionless, for several long moments. Green slime slipped through his jointed fingers to cover the stone; in the hands of the adult H'trch, the stones looked as though they were once part of the face of a child.  
  
**************  
  
"Well, that's that - they're off!"   
  
Mrs. Briefs stood on the grass of Capsule Corporation, her blonde hair ruffling slightly in the night breeze, peering up at the twilight sky. She was standing apart from the little group that had gathered to wave goodbye to the adventurers; ChiChi and Goten, Juuhachi and Marron, Videl, and Bulma's daughter Bra. They all craned their necks, squinting up at the twinkling stars in the sky, hoping to see a last glimpse of the spacecraft carrying their loved ones to Argus VI.  
  
Her eyes, as always, appeared to be closed, and her face wore a pleasant, if dimwitted, smile - which made ChiChi wonder. She suspected, at times, that the other woman's dim exterior hid a brain as clever and as tough as either her daughter or her husband. ChiChi had always admired the adroit way in which she handled the people in her household; her absent-minded husband, her tart-tongued daughter and especially Bulma's proud and stubborn Saiyan husband.   
  
Even after all these years, ChiChi still couldn't forget that it was Vejiita who had started what she thought as "all that trouble." If that man had never come to this planet, she reasoned, her Gohan would have had a normal, sane childhood, and would not have run off, chasing androids and monsters and Kami knows what else that decided to threaten their world. The fact that Vejiita had little, if anything, to do with the events surrounding Gero and his creations - or indeed, anything that happened after that - meant absolutely nothing to her. She tightened her grip on Goten's shoulder, making him wince in discomfort. She was not going to lose another one to that way of life, no matter what.   
  
Eyeing his mother surreptitiously, Gohan wiggled out from underneath her hand and moved closer to Juuhachi and Videl, his expression sullen. He was quite old enough, after all, not to be manhandled by his mother in front of other people.  
  
"Poor Piccolo didn't look very happy, did he?" As ChiChi opened her mouth to reply, Mrs. Briefs continued chattering, oblivious to the dark-haired woman trying to get a word in edgewise. "Most of the others did - I know that Bulma was relieved to be leaving, and Gokuu always enjoys going on trips. Trunks is going to miss you, too, Goten," she said, nodding in his direction, "but don't worry, it's only going to be a few weeks, I think - at least that's what Bulma said. Hmm ... and now that I think about it, Kuririn didn't look very happy, either. Why didn't you go with him, dear?" she asked, scooping her granddaughter up into her arms as she turned to look at Juuhachi. Bra giggled, wanting to claim more of her grandmother's attention.  
  
"Because I wasn't asked," murmured the blonde, amused at the older woman's constant chatter. There was a lot of information given away by Mrs. Briefs if one had the patience to listen to it, and Juuhachi was nothing if not thorough. Kuririn never told her when he expected to be back, and here she found out just by listening attentively to Bulma's mother. "Besides, someone has to stay here to protect the planet. We can't send all our fighters away."  
  
Goten looked at her, surprise etched in his eyes. She coolly returned his gaze, lifting her eyebrows at him.  
  
"Well, what did you think, boy?" she inquired, staring at him. "Did you think that we could afford to have every decent fighter leave at the same time?"  
  
"I ... I never thought about it," he said, surprised.   
  
"Apparently," the android replied dryly. "That's why other people are doing your thinking for you. "  
  
Goten bristled, but Mrs. Briefs walked between them, patting the boy's arm and chiding, "Now, now - we're going to be on our own for a while, so we need to get along with each other. It's not surprising that you didn't think about protecting the planet, dear," she continued, smiling sweetly at Goten. "We aren't under attack right now."  
  
"Not now ... but for some reason, we seem to be a magnet for every stray Saiyan and demon that was set loose around the universe," ChiChi muttered darkly.  
  
Juuhachi nodded in agreement. "All the more reason that some of us stayed behind without complaining," she remarked, walking behind Videl to recapture her daughter. "Come on, Marron, it's time for us to go inside," she said, effortlessly snaring her small hand in one of hers. Marron giggled as her mother smiled down at her, fondness and love for her little girl shining from her eyes.  
  
"Yes, let's do go in," Mrs. Briefs echoed, turning to the group and shooing them inside the main building, Bra still in her arms. "Everyone's welcome to stay here - in fact, tonight I insist. We've plenty of room, and I couldn't bear staying alone this first night. You know," she said confidentially to ChiChi, "this is the first time that I'll have been alone since Bulma was small. When she was a little bit older than Bra, we started taking her on our business trips and traveling together as a family. I haven't been alone since."  
  
"Well, I don't know -" began ChiChi, looking over her shoulder; but when she saw Videl walk over to Goten and start a quiet conversation with him, she relaxed a bit. "Oh, all right," she relented, smiling back at Bulma's mother, "we'll stay."  
  
"Excellent!" Mrs. Briefs exclaimed, beaming. "It will be a real girls' night in - ah, well, except for you, of course, Goten," she amended quickly.  
  
He nodded and rolled his eyes, but was actually rather happy at this turn of events. He liked Videl a lot; she was pretty, smart, and she paid attention to him and made him feel important, something his bruised teenage ego craved. Not being asked to go with Trunks had been a blow; no one had even bothered to explain why they didn't want him, not even his father. Even Juuhachi, as blunt and sarcastic as she was, had been more help than the members of his own family. It was frustrating being the son of a Son.   
  
Sensing his mood, Videl turned to him and murmured, "Come on, Goten - let's go see what they have in the kitchen. I'll bet we can get something to eat and then go watch videos for a while."  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good," Goten said with a goofy grin. "I'm pretty hungry now."  
  
Kami, he even smiles like his father! Videl prodded him in the direction of the main building, following everyone else inside. "You know, Goten," she said thoughtfully, "you're not the only male warrior here. Yamucha, Tenshinhan and Chao-tzu are still around. But," she said with a smile, "you are the only Saiyan warrior on the planet - which, I suppose, makes you pretty special."  
  
"Huh. Yeah, I guess you're right," Goten agreed, surprised, now feeling much better about staying behind. If I'm the only Saiyan left, then right now I must be the strongest warrior on Earth! He held his head higher and straightened his back noticeably as he walked into the Briefs' home.   
  
Masking her smile at the vulnerability of young male egos, Videl followed him inside, quietly closing the door.  
  
  



	3. Powerful Thoughts

Time Warriors Chapter 3  
********************  
  
There was absolutely nothing to do.   
  
Space travel was boring, and Trunks needed something else to occupy his time other than watch diplomats bicker and argue. That was even worse than doing nothing; those people just simpered and sniped at each other, worrying whether they were wearing the right clothes, had enough money, knew the right people - and none of them had any time for reticent, purple haired teenagers. It wasn't even amusing to watch.   
  
Gohan was closer to him in age than anyone else on the ship, but Trunks didn't feel connected to him - he didn't feel as if they had anything in common at all. He was nice, he was pleasant, but . he just wasn't Goten. He hadn't expected to miss Goten this much.  
  
Trying to distract himself, he had offered to help his mother and grandfather in the lab, but was brushed off with a brusque, "Not now, dear. We're not ready to have other people see the machine. We'll let you know when we need your help." In fact, Bulma had shooed him out of the laboratory at that point, as well as the rest of the Earth senshi loitering there. None of them wanted to mingle with the passengers, either.  
  
"Don't you guys have something else to do?" she asked with a frown as she pushed them out of the room.   
They reminded her of idle, indolent adolescents with nothing else to occupy their time other than eating and quarreling with each other.  
  
Eh ... and when Saiyans start fighting ... She shuddered at the thought, imagining their spaceship floating in space, graced with huge, gaping holes throughout the superstructure, all because some people were bored.  
  
"What would you suggest, woman? We're in space, and there is no gravity room here," Vejiita growled irritably, glaring at her as he shuffled into the hallway with the other warriors. It was no secret that he hated space travel as much as Bulma adored it. In his opinion, suspended animation in the Saiyan spacepods was the only civilized way to travel.  
  
"Oh, honestly, just grow up," Bulma snapped, glowering at her mate. "There's a huge training room at the other end of the ship - my father had it built especially for you and Gokuu. Go use that for a while."  
  
Gohan and Trunks looked at each other and rolled their eyes, but Gokuu suddenly brightened, pushing himself through the crowd to stand in front of Bulma.  
  
"Really, Bulma?" Gokuu looked at her hopefully. "There's a place where we can go spar? Gee, that's great! Vejiita, did you hear that? There's a place for us to spar !"  
  
The smaller Saiyan gave Gokuu an exasperated look and made a disgusted noise as Bulma chuckled. "Well, what did you think, Gokuu - that my father would forget? You guys need something to do other than get on each other's nerves. So go on - get going." Grinning, she gave him a playful shove away from the laboratory door, then scowled again when she looked at Vejiita.  
  
"Bulma," interrupted a faint voice from inside the laboratory, "I've found something here, and I need you ..."  
  
"Coming!" she called, turning her head in her father's direction. Swiftly looking back at Vejiita, she hissed, "You, too - go away and leave us alone for a while."  
  
"Don't tell me what to do," the Saiyan responded in a dangerous tone, his eyes glittering.  
  
"This is great! Come on, Vejiita," Gokuu repeated, eagerly turning toward the back of the vessel. Blithe and carefree, he smiled and said, "Let's go - Piccolo, are you coming?"  
  
A grunt was his only response, but the tall Namekian moved off toward the aft section of the ship, closely followed by Gohan and Kuririn.  
  
Trunks stood next to the door, looking wistfully into the laboratory; he was about to walk in when the door was abruptly slammed shut in his face.   
  
"Stop gawking and get moving, boy," growled a familiar voice in his ear, followed by a meaningful shove in the center of his back, pushing him after the other warriors.  
  
Trunks trotted in front of his father as he hurried away from the lab toward the training facility, shoulders set in resignation. Here we go again, he sighed to himself.  
  
***********  
  
Allyssa's green eyes lit up as she heard scuffling noises coming from the hall, and a sardonic smile spread across her face when Theo dragged herself through the kitchen doorway that morning. She watched her friend totter into the room in her bathrobe, wet hair straggling into bloodshot eyes.  
  
This is it, she thought, assessing Theo's physical state. I'm pushing until something gives. Three times in as many nights is too much ...   
  
Theo completely ignored Allyssa and headed straight for the refrigerator, yanked the door open and pulled out a huge container of orange juice. She unscrewed the top of the bottle with hands that were trembling a little as she swayed slightly on her feet.  
  
"Good morning, Theo!"  
  
Allyssa's booming voice startled Theo so badly that she almost dropped the entire container on the floor - as it was, juice sloshed over her wrist and fingers, dripping into a small puddle. The look Theo threw in Allyssa's direction would have maimed anyone else.   
  
"Uhh," she grunted at Allyssa, glaring.   
  
"Think you might want a glass with that?" Allyssa asked, nodding at the bottle. "Or do you just want it straight?"  
  
"Shut up," Theo croaked as she turned her back on her companion. She grabbed a plastic cup from the stack next to the refrigerator, filled it to the top, drained it, filled it again, put it on the counter and stood there, panting.   
  
Damn lucky I could get this far, she thought, clutching the counter as her knees threatened to buckle. Her head felt as if it was five times its normal size and filled with broken glass. Ah, but it's better than the dreams, she rationalized. Anything's better than that ...   
  
Allyssa cocked her head as she regarded Theo, the white line of her scar showing faintly against her throat. Arms crossed, she casually leaned her shoulder against the opposite wall and inquired with a mocking grin, "Can I help you with anything?"   
  
"No. Shut up and go away," Theo retorted, returning the bottle to the refrigerator. Uhh ... this is the part that's really going to hurt, she groaned, steeling herself, grabbing a towel from the counter. As she bent over to mop up the spilled juice, the headache that had anchored itself behind her eyes suddenly erupted through her head. Pain flared out, beating her without mercy, and for a moment she thought she saw stars. Theo groaned aloud and remained bent at the waist, her legs collapsing under her.  
  
Magically, Allyssa appeared next to her and plucked the towel from her nerveless fingers. "No, of course you don't need my help with anything. Come on. Let's get you over here," she said, slipping an arm around Theo's waist, stopping her slow fall to the ground. She dragged her over to the small wooden table that stood next to the wall and guided her to a large chair.  
  
Theo sank down and immediately put her head into her hands, elbows propped on the table. Her orange juice suddenly appeared next to her, along with several large, blue pills. My head's going to explode...  
  
"I thought Time Lords didn't get hangovers?" Allyssa commented, sitting opposite Theo at the table.  
  
"They don't," Theo's muffled voice came from her hands. "I'm not a Time Lord, idiot." The pills disappeared quickly, followed by another wave of orange juice. But how does she know this is a hangover? Tightly slitted eyes peered at her smirking companion from behind her hands. She's just guessing, that's all.  
  
"Hmm." Allyssa looked at Theo as she tossed the soiled towel at the open laundry chute. "Had you considered that drinking an entire carafe of ghee might not be the best way to get to sleep at night?"  
  
Theo groaned and huddled in her chair, miserable, still holding her head. Ehh ... she knows. "You're a sadist. Go away and let me die in peace."  
  
"Heh - you're not going to die." Allyssa leaned over and snapped on the glowlamp by Theo's chair with a mischievous twinkle. The bright light caused Theo to cringe and shudder, trying to make herself even smaller. "You're only going to wish you were dead."  
  
Theo groaned again. "Stop gloating and go away," she said in her hands, her fingers tightly drawn together to push the light away from her eyes.  
  
"Can't do that," Allyssa said cheerfully, watching Theo. "Told your mother I'd look after you."  
  
"Well, you've failed miserably," Theo snapped. "So now you can just go away and leave me alone." Her slitted eyes changed color from dark blue to forest green as she lifted her head from her hands and glared at Allyssa, curling her lip.  
  
Allyssa leaned close and said, "How did I fail? I like to drink as well as the next person, but I wasn't the one who snuck out of bed and stupidly drank themselves blind with nearly a liter of straight ghee - for three nights in a row - was I?" Satisfied at Theo's stunned expression, she pulled back and asked, "And if that's how you're getting to sleep these days, what are you going to do tonight? There's no more ghee anywhere on this TARDIS."  
  
Theo looked at her for a long minute, saying nothing. "I'm ... I'm ... making more," she finally mumbled, averting her gaze, all bravado gone. I can't even lie to her, she thought, staring at the table. How totally pathetic is that ...  
  
"Oh," Allyssa replied, staring at her until Theo started to squirm uncomfortably. "I see. You've decided to kill yourself with ghee - slow, but eventually it'll happen." The other woman folded her arms across her chest and continued to stare at Theo, an implied challenge in her look. "It's been done before. I don't think that's such a good idea."   
  
Without warning, something broke inside Theo. Most of her energy went toward keeping her memories at bay; because of that, her tenuous hold on her temper finally snapped. She rose out of her seat, leaned forward threateningly and glared at Allyssa. "I really don't CARE what you think!" Theo shouted as she slammed her hands on the table, then winced reflexively in pain. "I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm the one that has to live with this - this - thing - not you!"  
  
What thing? Allyssa wondered, watching Theo's expression. I must be close ...  
  
She was panting again; fine beads of perspiration clung to her forehead and her hands were visibly shaking as she stood at the side of the table, obviously trying to control herself. "It's been years since it's been this bad. And I know what started it, but that doesn't help." Theo glared at Allyssa as she massaged the back of her neck with one hand and sank down into her chair again. "You don't know anything about this - you have no idea. I haven't slept well, if at all, for weeks. Weeks!" Her mouth a thin, compressed line, she bit out, "If you know of some miracle drug that'll help fix this - whatever it is - I'll take it. I don't care. Otherwise, I'm going to keep doing what seems to work, because-" and her voice shook with the force of emotion behind it, "-I will not have that bastard in my mind again - ever!" An expression Allyssa had never seen cut across Theo's face - it was a mixture of pain and revulsion, coupled with a healthy dose of fear.  
  
Ah, now we're getting somewhere, Allyssa thought. Theo had never before shared any of her dreams with her partner; Allyssa had been forced to deal with the aftermath, only guessing at the source of her pain.   
"Have who in your mind, Theo? Who are you talking about?"  
  
Eyes wide in consternation, Theo almost stopped breathing and stared at her friend, belatedly realizing she had said too much. Allyssa reached across and snared one of Theo's hands in her own; it was ice cold and trembling.   
  
"You must tell me, Theo," she said, gently squeezing her hand, putting as much compulsion into her voice as she could. "I can't help you unless you tell me ... and you need to think about Elyse as well. If she's in danger because she's with you, I need to know that."  
  
Several moments passed before Theo responded. "I ... I will try, Ally," she said slowly. "I will tell you as much as I can."  
  
Allyssa exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath until she heard Theo's answer. She let go of her hand and settled more comfortably in her chair, waiting for Theo to start.   
  
Theo swallowed and grimaced, lacing her fingers together tightly, forcing herself to speak. "So that you understand," she said, looking down at the table, "you need to know what I was doing thirty-five years ago." Ravaged eyes flew up to look at Allyssa, eyes that were mournful and haunted, bitterness and despair moving in their depths. "I don't know how much my mother told you, but it was ... horrible ..."  
  
Allyssa listened, engrossed, as Theo haltingly told her story.  
  
***************  
  
The training room wasn't actually a room at all; rather, it was its own sector of the ship, double-hulled and isolated from the main body. The chamber itself was contained in a cylindrical shell at the rear of the vessel; it spanned four vertical decks, and had almost half of that width. Dr. Briefs had taken great care when designing it, as he knew that both Gokuu and Vejiita were particular about what they needed .  
  
All the standard equipment was available to them; weights, showers, whirlpools for aching muscles, and the like. Several other features had been added just for Saiyans, such as "blast proof" walls; the "blast proofing" was simply for errant shots and misses, projected at a half power level. All in all, it was the perfect place for a Saiyan to let off a little steam.  
  
************  
  
They had been working out for several hours - initially, it had been one-on-one sparring, with Gokuu and Gohan, Vejiita and Piccolo, Trunks and Kuririn. After several rounds, partners were switched and new offensive tactics were tried; several times the group attacked one person en masse, just to see if they could fight as a unit instead of just individuals.   
  
Kuririn was sourly surprised at the ferocity of Vejiita's attack against him; it was almost as if the Saiyen knew exactly where Kuririn was going to be and what he was going to do before he did anything.   
  
What's he want to do, kill me now? he wondered angrily as he picked himself up from yet another savage assault. The back of his head itched; he rubbed it fiercely as he glared at Vejiita. He should just finish it and get it over with, if that's what he's going to do.   
  
Vejiita gave him an ugly grin, as if he knew precisely what Kuririn was thinking, and gestured for him to attack. Kuririn scowled and leaped at him, throwing everything he had into the fight; he knew he couldn't win, but he hoped to score at least a point or two again the Saiyan.  
  
He never had the chance. Vejiita thoroughly trounced him, to the point where he thought he might need some of Karin's sensu beans. Strangely enough, Vejiita had stopped his assault immediately after Kuririn had that thought and turned his full attention on Gohan, completely ignoring the human. That had given Kuririn the opportunity he needed to crawl out of the way to the edge of the arena and snag one of the beans from Gokuu. Now recovered, he was standing with his friends and watching the prince attack Gokuu, nursing a large bruised ego.  
  
Break that bastard's face for me, Gokuu, Kuririn thought, his eyes cold and fixed on the spectacle above, his hands clutching a towel draped around his neck.  
  
Unexpectedly, the black eyes of the prince flashed down and met Kuririn's, shocking the human to his core.   
  
Not today, little man.  
  
Kuririn's mouth fell open as he stared up at the fighters; Vejiita's gaze was locked on Gokuu again. That ... nah ... impossible ... he decided, shaking his head, confounded.  
  
Vejiita and Gokuu were sparring about three stories in the air while the others watched from the training room floor. Neither had transformed, and neither looked tired or winded at all. Gokuu seemed to be having the time of his life, and Vejiita was laughing and taunting him.  
  
"They could be doing this for hours," Gohan muttered, craning his neck to get a better view.  
  
"They HAVE been doing this for hours," Trunks observed wryly.   
  
Kuririn stood next to Piccolo as he watched the combatants. "Well, I'm ready. After these guys are finished, who wants to go with me?"  
  
Gohan turned and said, "I will, Kuririn - we haven't sparred today, only-" His last thought was cut off as his mouth twisted in an expression of disbelief. "What - is - THAT?" he said, pointing to the walls of the room.   
  
Trunks and Piccolo turned and stared at the wall - and with the exception of the grunts and punches from the fighters in the air, there was absolute, stunned silence. Translucent, multicolored globs of tendrilled something flowed soundlessly through the ceiling and walls of the chamber and dripped down its sides as freely as running water. They shimmered and wiggled and gave off a strange power signal, almost as if they were pure energy.   
  
They ARE pure energy, Gohan thought, amazed. He had never seen their like before; while he was intrigued, he also felt an irritating, persistent itching at the back of his head, accompanied by a low buzz. It sounded like insects that flew around his mother's flowers in her garden, and felt as if a swarm of gnats was trying to land all at once on the back of his neck. It was, to say the very least, incredibly annoying.   
  
"Look, it's there, too!" Gohan lifted his arm to point at the opposite wall, but felt as though he was moving through some thick, atmospheric sludge. Forcing himself to drag his head around, what he saw when he looked at Kuririn was enough to make him react, gasping in shock. The earthman looked as though he was frozen in place, not breathing nor moving, his eyes wide open, his hands grasping the towel around his neck.   
  
Trunks and Piccolo seemed to be having the same trouble as Gohan; they were moving in slow motion, their movements exaggerated. Trunks was saying something, but Gohan could not hear him; in fact, the small sounds that Gohan could hear were coming to him in waves, in bits at a time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some of the multicolored tendrils puddle on the floor and flow, inexorably, toward them. The buzzing and itching on the back of his head increased the closer those things moved to him.  
  
Exhorting himself to look upward, Gohan saw that Gokuu and Vejiita suspended in space; however, they were still mobile, albeit extremely slow. Tendrils pulsed from the all sides of the room toward them as well, waving their arms lazily in the air.  
  
"I - can't - move!" grunted Gokuu, tensing his muscles and grimacing at Vejiita. "What's - happening?"  
  
"Ka - ka - rotto," Vejiita forced out of his lips, feeling his movement impaired. A buzzing and itching sensation that started moments ago intensified with every passing second. Even his thoughts seemed to be getting sluggish ...  
  
A feeling unexpectedly surfaced, vaguely recognized - the feeling he always heeded in battle, his sixth sense:  
  
... this happened to me before! Where - when - was it?  
  
A memory burst into his head unbidden; he had been in his private training room in the palace, waiting for someone, and all of a sudden he felt something buzzing around his head, trying to keep him from thinking clearly ...  
  
...and that was all he could remember. Frustration turned almost immediately to rage as he realized the substance in the ship was actually controlling everything it touched - and everything it touched was under his protection, and therefore, belonged to him - which meant that the impudent power was challenging him and wanted to dominate him as well ...  
  
The hell with this, he thought furiously, and projected his thoughts to Gokuu. Kakarotto, he sent, brushing his mind, use more power, and do it before this 'stuff' reaches us!  
  
Gokuu's eyes flicked up to meet Vejiita's with instant comprehension.  
  
"Ahhhhh!" he screamed, and immediately the golden halo of a Super Saiyan surrounded his body. An instant later, Vejiita joined him, flooding the area with his own corona.  
  
"There!" Gokuu exclaimed, flexing his arms and fingers. "Wow, that's much better - I couldn't move!" He swiveled around and, fascinated, watched the waving tendrils in front of his face, their slow rhythm causing his eyes to droop. "And my head feels funny -"  
  
"Baka, MOVE!" Vejiita commanded, pushing him out of the way. "Don't let them touch you!" He looked down at the tableau on the ground, and telepathically sent to both Trunks and Gohan, use your power as we did, and do it now!  
  
Luminous radiance instantly surrounded both Trunks and Gohan, and they jumped just in time to escape the energy flooding the floor. Both Piccolo and Kuririn were ankle deep in the flow, and as they watched, the energy snaked up and over their bodies, engulfing them. Piccolo's head was moving slowly from side to side, and then stopped completely.  
  
"NO!" cried Gohan, ready to go to Piccolo's aid.   
  
"Get up here, boy!" a harsh voice from above ordered. "We're going to fight this thing together, and we need you!"  
  
************  
  
The Namekian heard his protege's anguished cry and Vejiita's harsh rejoinder, even though his body was covered with the transluscent goo. It was an odd feeling; his body was functioning perfectly - it just couldn't move.   
  
His mind, though, was hearing some pretty strange things. Whisperings of power, of other beings searching their psyche, trailing in and out of their minds like hushed thoughts.  
  
We are many, yet we are one. We will not harm you - we wish only to observe and study and classify. We will do no harm, but we will know you thoroughly, your heart and soul and mind.  
  
Piccolo was unable to respond, but felt an involuntary response to their energy signal from his merged Kami, a small pulse. A pleasant feeling suffused with wamrth grew in his mind, something that tweaked memories of languid days on Namek; well-being washed over him, and he felt complete.  
  
You are unique, Namekian. Be well and happy.  
  
Without warning, he could feel the character of the ooze's thoughts changing; they suddenly became taut and defensive, shielding portions of itself from-  
  
-from what?he thought, curious.  
  
-from your companions, the being replied, strained. We are leaving now, Namekian. Our power is vast, but we use it only in self-defense. We will not use it here. Advise your companions well, Kami - they need you.  
  
Surprise and bewilderment at the last statement of the ooze ran through Piccolo's mind as he felt its quick withdrawl of power. Advise them? he wondered.  
  
*************  
  
Frustrated, Gohan glanced at Piccolo and Kuririn's forms once more, then flew up to meet his father, Vejiita and Trunks, avoiding the tendrils of energy that seemed to reach out for him. The other three Saiyans were already floating back to back in defensive postures. Gohan was pushed into the circle between Vejiita and Gokuu.   
  
"Now listen," Vejiita snarled. "If we were able to move ourselves just by becoming Super Saiyan, then what do you think will happen if we push ourselves farther?"  
  
"If we're going to do it, it'll have to be now!" Trunks exclaimed, eyeing the waving tendrils and shaking his head. "These things are coming right for us!"  
  
"And think before you do anything!" Vejiita snapped. "If you don't, you'll put a hole in the side of the ship and we'll all be sucked out into space!"  
  
The tendrils of energy were now everywhere; above, below, and around them. Now! Vejiita said mentally, and in an instant, they had powered beyond the Super Saiyan level. The brightness they created could have been mistaken for a small sun; the energy waves were enormous.  
  
The multicolored energy threads had united around them; as one, they descended on the Saiyans, softly wrapping around their bodies and flooding into and through them. Vejiita screamed and pushed his energy level even higher; Gokuu, Gohan and Trunks followed his lead, increasing their own power levels.  
Immediately, almost as if they had been burned, the energy beams withdrew from their inspection of the Saiyans, turning bright red and pulling away several meters away in all directions. A different character came from them; before, they had been slow, searching, almost lazy in their inspection - now they seemed to be alert, poised on the brink of attack or retreat, cautiously waving back and forth.  
  
Heh ... you should be afraid, Vejiita thought, his fury under tight control as he pushed himself toward the energy vines. As if they could sense his intent, the tendrils hastily retreated to the sides of the ship then disappeared through the hull completely.  
  
Realizing what he had just witnessed, Goku shouted and leaped toward the nearest clump. Just as they had with Vejiita, those energy vines immediately snapped back to the sides of the ship and vanished.  
Trunks and Gohan were chasing the stray pieces still left floating in the air of the room, three or four stories from the ground, while Gokuu and Vejiita sped down to the ground to assist Piccolo and Kuririn. These tendrils had turned bright red at the same time those in midair did, and once they felt the Saiyans' power, they immediately retreated from their position. All, that is, except one unlucky creeper that was caught under Vejiita's foot as he landed.   
  
"All right, Kakarotto, let's see what this thing is," he said, capturing the energy vine in one gloved hand. He started to probe its field with his own chi, pushing against a resistance that seemed familiar to him. I know this energy ... I've felt it before ... but where?...  
  
With no warning at all, a dark green energy beam lanced across the deck and struck Vejiita's hand, causing him to drop the tendril with a surprised cry. As he bent to retrieve it, he watched in amazement as the green energy beam twined itself around the red like a helix. The beams glowed and expanded themselves to twice their size, and suddenly shattered into thousands of glowing shards. The warriors just had time to protect their eyes when the energy beams exploded. Glancing back a few seconds later, they found nothing to show that the strange energy beams had even been there.   
  
"What was that?" Gohan and Trunks dropped to the floor, looking at Gokuu and Vejiita in amazement. "What did you do?"  
  
Shaking his head in befuddlement, Gokuu answered, "We didn't do anything - there was this green one that came from over there, and -"  
  
"So, Gohan, what am I supposed to see?"   
  
Gohan whirled to see Kuririn looking at him, confused. Piccolo was standing next to him, his arms folded, a strange expression on his face.   
  
"It looks the same to me - what am I missing?"  
  
"Kuririn, you're okay!" Gokuu said delightedly, moving over and clapping his old friend on the back.  
  
"Well ... yeah ...," Kuririn answered, looking at Gokuu as if he had lost a few more of his marbles. "What did you expect? And why -" he started and stopped, confused, "-why are you in Super Saiyan mode?"  
  
"Oh," Gokuu said, immediately powering down, "that's because Vejiita figured out that more power was better." As Gokuu was speaking, the other Saiyans also powered down as well, looking at Kuririn closely.  
  
"You don't remember anything that just happened, little man?" Vejiita asked peremptorily, striding over and standing directly in front of him.   
  
Kuririn glared up at Vejiita, and said hotly, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you'd better watch it with the 'little' stuff." Vejiita allowed himself a small smile as Kuririn continued to glower at him. "Gohan had just said, 'Look over there - what is that?' - and I looked, and I didn't see anything. As a matter of fact, I STILL don't see anything. So -"  
  
Piccolo broke his silence, looking at Vejiita thoughtfully. "You recognized the power, didn't you?"  
  
Vejiita gave Piccolo a measuring stare. "If I did, it's none of your business. It was familiar," he said, musing. "I just can't place it ..."  
  
"It sure was powerful," Gokuu said, flexing his arms. "That was weird in the beginning, wasn't it? And where did it come from? Through the sides of the ship? But that can't be, because ..."  
  
"Because why, Kakarotto?" Vejiita asked acerbically. "Because you haven't seen it before? There are stranger things in this universe than you or anything you've seen so far, believe me. Just look at the Namek over there." Piccolo stared impassively at Vejiita, who smirked.   
  
"We should probably check the rest of the ship," Gohan put in. Everyone turned to look at him, and he colored. "Well - we should see if any of the systems were affected by it, or any other people, or -"  
  
"We should check out the systems, boy, you're right about that," Vejiita said, staring at him, "but I don't think that we'll have to check out the people. If your friend here is any indication of the average human - which I'm sure he is -" Vejiita smiled cruelly at Kuririn, who was obviously furious, "they didn't notice any disruption at all. Time just stood still for them."  
  
As they walked across the training room floor, Kuririn watched Vejiita's back, steaming. He muttered under his breath to Gohan, "Just once, Gohan -- just one time, that's all I'm asking - I'd die a happy man -"  
Gohan muttered back, "I think you'd have to stand in line, Kuririn."  
  
"The wait would be worth it," Kuririn growled.  
  



	4. Those in the Background

Time Warriors Chapter 4  
*********************  
  
"We are ready for liftoff, Commander," the commlink buzzed.   
  
Slowly, the H'trch commander turned his head toward the sound of the link. "Initiate the sequence and stand ready for liftoff," he ordered, speaking rapidly, "I'm on my way to the bridge."  
  
The commander had just re-entered his ship from the last reconnaissance mission, and was sick at heart. They had set down a total of four different times at four different locations across Calipt'dor, and all with the same result. Piles and piles and piles of H'trch bodies, as far as the eye could see, with no survivors. Endless body parts, cairns heaped 7 meters high, bodies clogging main city streets ... the horror seemed to have no end in sight. They had even tried to locate survivors below ground, in the mines and nurseries, to no avail.   
  
Children ... even the children were destroyed ...  
  
He felt the drive engines come to life, and started to move rapidly through the corridors toward the bridge. The ship had been designed for softbodies, but the great H'trch engineering minds had adapted the designs to accommodate the H'trch's greater size and bulk.   
  
What happens, the commander thought bitterly, when we can no longer operate this ship? There are no more great H'trch engineering minds left ... there are no H'trch ... they are all slag heaps, now ...  
  
He swung himself through the narrow hallways with ease, angrily pushing the images of the recon mission out of his mind, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand. As he stepped onto the bridge, his crew turned to face him. I am responsible for them, he thought grimly. We must be strong together.  
  
Aloud, he snapped, "Take us off planet, Sh'rng. Now!" He pushed himself into the commander's chair above the navigator and glared at the rest of the crew. "To your posts - at once!" he ordered.   
  
"Sir!" they replied as one, moving to their various positions on the bridge. As he watched the ground drop away on the viewscreen, he made a promise to himself. I will find you, Time Lord, he vowed, and when I do, I will make certain that you pay for all the destruction you visited on my people. You will suffer - there will be no easy death for you. No death at all, if I can help it.  
  
His jointed face was drawn back in a grimace as his first mate inquired, "Sir - we have cleared the planet's surface and are in a standard orbit. Your orders, sir? Sir?"  
  
The commander looked at his first mate. "Take her to the jump station, Sh'mg. We will reconn there; once we have secured the area, we will move out."   
  
"Yes, sir," the first replied crisply. However, the commander knew his first extremely well, and could see that she was operating on nerves alone. Her joints need foaming, he thought, examining her. I can't allow her to get run down. She's too important.  
  
"Once you have docked at the jump station, Sh'mg, I want you to get some rest. That's an order," he said, lifting his great hand to forestall any protests on her part, staring directly at her.  
  
"Yes, sir," Sh'mg replied evenly, nodding her head. She knew when to argue with the commander, and when not to argue. In her opinion, this time fell into the latter category.  
  
"I will need you, Sh'mg, to plot a course to the Argus system before you go off duty, " continued the commander. "I plan to go there to pick up supplies and to do some trading - and I'll need you and several others to go off ship with me to negotiate with the softbodies."  
  
"Yes, sir. May I choose the crew, sir? Or do you have others in mind?" Sh'mg was familiar with offship trading and was able to use their universal translator with ease.   
  
"You may choose the crew, Sh'mg, but be sure to include At'tka and Jh'rnd - and don't include Te'rah," the commander replied. "She will be staying with the ship. Also, please insure that anyone going offship has a working chip and a working translator. Check this through the computer. While we're at it, we might as well order up chip exams for everyone - make sure that is coordinated through Te'rah, though. Any questions?"  
  
"No, sir," said Sh'mg, making a mental note to contact the security chief as soon as was practical.   
"Fine," sighed the commander. "Let's get on with it, then."  
  
Sh'mg turned to the navigator and started issuing docking orders, all the while thinking of the offship duty they would have in the Argus system. Her helmet covered the top of her head and was about the same color as her rocklike skin, but the flashing energy pulses around the brim showed her mental activity in a way that her face never could.   
  
The commander watched her and knew what she was thinking. Not yet, my dear, he thought, not yet. We still need some of the softbodies. But soon, when we have the Time Lord and her ship, we will subsume them ... all of them ... down to the last soul.  
  
**************  
  
A gentle rain was falling outside the thatched roof house. Tangles of rosewood and boxweed burrowed in the undergrowth, as rain heavy willows bent their branches toward the windows of the cottage.  
  
Warm, inviting light streamed from the interior and outlined the form of a woman. She was standing next to a large window, an abstracted look on her face, holding a large, steaming mug between both hands. Her face gave the appearance of youth, but closer inspection showed the fine lines and creases earned with age; her hair was a honey red, with wisps of gray shot through it. The steam rose in rivulets from the cup, assaulting her nose with its fragrance and warmth, but she hardly seemed to notice. She was layered in somber-hued, thick woolen sweaters and wore wide black woolen trousers banded with green at the bottom. Her eyes were turned inward and unfocused, her breathing short and shallow, as if her consciousness was elsewhere - which, in fact, it was.  
  
At the sound of voices from the outer room, she started and turned away from the window, a frown marring her features, her eyes refocusing. She walked to the large, planked table in the middle of the room, put her cup down at the head, then moved to the massive wooden doors braced with iron to welcome the new arrivals.  
  
"Ohayo, Yisador - let us in, please - it's freezing out here!"  
  
Bright chatter and smiling faces greeted her immediately when she opened the door. The women on the other side eagerly stepped into the room from the damp outdoors and tramped over to the fireplace to deposit their outer clothes, leaving a wet trail across the solid wooden planks of the floor.  
  
...six, seven, eight ... ah, good, Yisador counted to herself, everyone's here. Raising her voice to be heard over the general hubbub, she called, "Ladies, please - there's cider and tea and pastries on the sideboard. Don't be shy, now ..."  
  
Talking and laughing, they draped their outerwear across the benches and chairs arrayed in front of the fireplace to dry, then descended on the sideboard. Many picked their way across the table, deftly spearing honeyed breads and pastries at the end of long toasting forks, pouring large, steaming mugs of trumpberry tea and hot, mulled cider for each other, elbowing and laughing as they chose their portions.  
  
After serving themselves, the newcomers turned from the sideboard and moved over to the table, finding their seats with the alacrity of long practice. As they settled themselves, many brought out palmboards and mini swivelscreens from the pockets of their trousers, arranging the equipment on the table next to their food with a minimum of fuss.  
  
Yisador, seated at the head of the table, had several moments to observe her friends. They were as familiar to her as her old quilts, as dependable as the rising of the suns. These were the people with whom she had lived for nearly one thousand years. They were all Matrix Guardians.  
  
These women were not gods in the purest sense, in the sense of the Kamis or Kaious, but their power and intelligence pushed them close to that level. Their cousins, the Time Lords of Gallifrey, were one of the few races that possessed psychic powers that rivaled their own - however, the similarity between them ended there, even though the Time Lords could access the Matrix at the heart of Gallifrey. Matrix Guardians had, in their day, built civilizations on a par with the Progenitors, those that had spawned most intelligent life at the Galactic core - and had laid waste to an equal amount. Their influence was felt in every time stream throughout the galaxy and within those cross-cutting events in each stream; it was subtle and pervasive, sliding its fingers into each crack and crevasse.   
  
Yisador's gaze swept across the assembled women again, and lingered on the empty chairs at the foot of the table. Just as they, in their pride, had been able to make or break civilizations, the Guardians had nearly been broken themselves. Only forty-two years ago their kind had almost been eliminated in a freakish chance encounter with the Saiyans, an upstart warrior race. Some of the women present had been enslaved in that conflict; many others had been killed, while some barely escaped with their lives and were forced to flee their own planet and find a new Homeland. It had only been by the grace of Kami that the Saiyan slaves had been able to escape Vejiitasei after seven long years of captivity and find their sisters. Yisador shuddered involuntarily, remembering.   
  
Taking a deep breath, Yisador called, "Ladies ... everyone, let's begin," and loudly tapped her spoon on the side of her mug for order. "Thank you so much for coming on such short notice," she continued, smiling gravely at each woman in turn. "It is a testament to you that you would consider coming so quickly, and in such foul weather."  
  
"Yisa, you know we would come whenever you called," Meryth said, hiding a yawn behind one plump hand. "Whenever the Queen calls, we come. Besides, you always have a good reason for dragging us away from our families and lives."  
  
"What? You have a life, Meryth?" a voice murmured from Yisador's left. "That's a shock."  
  
"Shut up, Stranna," Meryth said agreeably, raising her eyebrow as she sipped her trumpberry tea. "No one asked for your opinion."  
  
"And that's why I'm forced to give it so often," Stranna rejoined, grinning across the table at her.   
"Hmph," Meryth grunted, her eyebrows drawn together in mock severity. "You know what they say about-"  
"Ladies, can we get started?" Yisador asked again, glancing from Stranna to Meryth in amusement. "And would you two mind fighting somewhere else?"  
  
An appreciative chuckle moved among the women as the two friends chuckled at each other. Waving her hand, Stranna said, "Please - don't let our bickering stop you. Go right ahead."  
  
"Ah," Yisador replied, looking down at her own palmscreen. "Well ... I feel that there is something we need to discuss, and without delay. My probability models show that something quite ... unusual ... is predicted to occur in this timestream within the next several days."  
  
She was silent for a moment. "You all know Theo, my daughter," she began, looking from face to face. "She's recently had an-" and she paused slightly, giving Meryth a significant look, "-unfortunate encounter with a particularly dangerous race called the H'trch on their home planet."   
  
Meryth stared back at her with a perplexed frown. Why did she look at me when she said that? she wondered.  
  
"H'trch? Aren't they..." Charline puzzled from the foot of the table. "Wait a minute - aren't they ... silicone? Just rocks - right?" An expression of perplexity crossed her heart-shaped face as she thought about the problem. "I heard something about them a while ago. I'm trying to remember ..."  
  
"Well, they're primitive, but sentient," said Gable, turning to Charline. Gable was a slight, older woman, like Yisador, with close-cropped ginger hair and calm, intelligent eyes. "And Yisador is right - the H'trch happen to be one of the more disturbing life forms I've ever seen. From what I remember," Gable continued, wrinkling her nose, "they were supposedly bent on 'universal domination,' or what they called 'get rid of the softbodies.' Does anyone else remember that?"   
  
Charline opened her mouth to reply when Meryth decided that she had heard enough. "Why would we have to remember it, Gable?" asked Meryth, shrugging. "You're the historian - you remember everything. We just have to ask you."  
  
Gable scowled at Meryth. "Would it hurt you to pay attention every now and then? This isn't ancient history, you know - this 'universal domination' thing of theirs started about 40 or 50 years ago, and has probably grown since. That race is dangerous to the health of any biological being in their reach."  
  
"Y'know, I was a little busy trying to stay alive back then, if you remember," Meryth snapped back, her eyes flashing. "I didn't have time to keep up with current events."  
  
"No need to get huffy - we were ALL busy 40 years ago," Gable retorted hotly, color flushing into her cheeks.   
  
"Ladies, please," interjected Yisador, forestalling Meryth's angry reply. "Everyone had problems forty years ago. However," she said, glaring at Meryth, "that is not the point of this discussion."  
  
"Then what is the point?" Meryth asked tightly as she swung her squat body around toward Yisador, her eyes a snapping sea green.  
  
Yisador looked at her friend and sighed wearily. "We were talking about Theo, remember. Theo had an encounter with this race several days ago in this timestream. Before she ... met ... them, their population was approximately one billion. Not huge, but fairly respectable."  
  
" ...and?" Meryth prodded irritably, still miffed from her conversation with Gable.  
  
" ... and today there are less than two-tenths of one percent of them alive."  
  
Every women around the table stopped tapping on her palmboard at exactly the same time and gaped at Yisador.  
  
"Are you sure?" Gable asked incredulously. "I can't believe that. You must be mistaken."  
  
Unexpectedly Charline spoke out, studying her palmboard as she glanced over at Stranna. "No, Yisador is correct. I've just done a sweep of the H'trch home planet, and ... there is no life there. Nothing like readings that were taken ..." and she gasped, " ... one week ago?"  
  
"Impossible!"  
  
"That can't be!"  
  
Immediately, the other Guardians consulted their screens and palmboards. The next few moments were a flurry of activity as each member verified the information that Charline had found. As the tumult died down, eight women faced Yisador with the same question on the tip of their tongues.  
  
"How ... how did it happen?" asked Meryth, looking as though she would rather not know the answer to her question.  
  
Yisador spoke slowly, measuring every word, watching the effect they had on her friends. "Apparently ... Theo was able to kill the H'trchs by burning the thread of their lives in the Valley of Souls."  
  
The silence in the room was deafening. No one spoke; no one moved; it also seemed to Yisador that they had all stopped breathing.  
  
"But ... that's ... impossible ...," whispered Stranna. "Only the Kaious can do that."  
  
Yisador shrugged slightly, her expression unreadable. "I only gathered this information this morning. It's not firsthand, but ... fairly reliable."  
  
Meryth stared at Yisador, her florid face a mask of distress. "It has happened before," she said quietly.   
  
Stranna glanced at Meryth sharply, her eyes blue and piercing. "What are you talking about? I don't remember anything like this."  
  
Meryth looked at Yisador, seeking permission; when Yisador gave no visible sign, Meryth sighed, turned to Stranna and said, "It happened before we left Vejiitasei. "  
  
"When?" Stranna snapped impatiently, scowling. "I don't remember it - I never saw anything like it-"  
  
"That's because you weren't outside when Theo dragged Beryan's body across the rotunda," Meryth snapped back. "She dropped over one hundred Saiyans in their tracks right outside the TARDIS. They were laying in piles all over the place. She has to have done the same thing - it's the only explanation."   
  
Stranna opened her mouth to say something, then quickly closed it, looking stunned. The rest of the women were silent as well, assimilating this new information. "Where is she now?" she managed to ask in a strangled voice.  
  
"According to this-" Yisador said, gesturing to her palmboard, "-she went to Gallifrey."  
  
Stranna blinked, looking confused. "Gallifrey? Why not here? Why didn't she come home?"  
  
"I have no idea," Yisador said, shaking her head. Looking at the far end of the table, Yisador raised her voice and asked, "Olean, what have you been receiving? Anything at all?"   
  
Olean had been characteristically silent the entire time the Guardians were arguing with each other, slumped quietly in her chair. She was a fragile woman, long and thin, with weary hands; her eyes had been closed, but at Yisador's direct question, they snapped open and appeared to overwhelm her face with darkness. Psychic pain radiated from their depths - her farsensing talent and her ability to predict future events overpowered her at times, and the pain she endured from Freeza's abuse never left her.  
  
She leaned forward, grasping the edge of the table, and spoke directly to Yisador. "Theo led a rescue mission for the Time Lords - but somehow, in her mind, it really wasn't a rescue mission. It's - it's very confusing." Olean frowned and shifted her body in her chair, unconsciously straightening her back. "She - " and Olean blinked, "-she told the Time Lord council what happened, and now she's off to the Argus system - ostensibly, for some rest and recreation."   
  
Olean's face contorted slightly as she looked at Yisador, hopelessness spilling out of her as she gave her last piece of information. "And she's been having those dreams again - and they're worse, Yisa, because of what's happened with the H'trch." Her expression was wretched as she murmured, "She's not doing very well right now. I'm sorry, Yisador."  
  
"What dreams?" Gable murmured to Charline, glancing down the table at Yisador. "What is she talking about?"  
  
"Shh - I'll tell you later," Charline hissed back, frowning.   
  
Yisador shook her head at Olean's words, staring down at the table. Oh, Theo ... she mourned. "Olean, did you see what else is going there in that same time continuum?" she asked, automatically probing.  
  
"No, I did not. Let me look." Olean closed her eyes and concentrated; suddenly, her eyes flew open and she reached for her palmboard, an odd expression on her long face. She looked back at Yisador, plainly unsettled, and said, "I'd like someone else to verify this, please - here are the coordinates - "  
  
Immediately, seven other palmboards were targeted on the space/time vector lines from Olean's palmboard.  
  
"This ... umm ... this doesn't seem quite right," Charline said, frowning, feeling the top of the palmboard with her fingertips. "There's ... there's something else in this continuum that has the exact same probability of arriving at the Argus system the same time as Theo ... which in itself, isn't bad ... but ... it's scale and power factor is ... gigantic. Are you feeling this?" she asked, looking around the table at her colleagues.  
  
"I am," Stranna agreed, squinting at her own palmboard. "Wait-I'm targeting the object .. just a few more-" Her mouth tightened as she curved her hand over the board, forming a slight energy field that bowed out, "-I've got it!" Triumphantly, she showed the object captured in the field to the others at the table. "Now, let's see ... "   
  
Pushing at the temporal field with her index finger, Stranna continued, mystefied, "...it's not quite stable -- and I don't know why. I used my strongest time net ..."  
  
"It's almost impossible to keep vital objects stable - whatever this is, it must be important. We'll just have to work quickly," said Yisador, frowning at the board.  
  
"Well, let's see what's here," Meryth said briskly. "Ladies, are you ready?"  
  
A murmur of agreement went around the table. The Guardians leaned back into their chairs, closed their eyes, and from long practice forged an unbreakable mental link with each other. Outside observers would have seen each woman slightly glowing, with each linked to the palmboard in Stranna's hand by a small strand of energy. Delicate, multihued tendrils of thought permeated the field, gently probing until they met the object under study. Branches of flame fanned out around the object, encapsulating it, then worked their way into it...  
  
Almost immediately, the energy surrounding each woman turned bright red and roared toward the ceiling. The room had become an inferno with Stranna's palmboard as its center. Chairs were toppled, the table was almost overturned, most of the other equipment on the table had been thrown on the floor as all the women flung their palmboards on top of the table. The slight energy field that had surrounded Stranna's palmboard quadrupled in size, with the captured object glowing hotly in the middle.   
  
The Guardians were standing with their backs to the wall, breathing hard, their eyes wide and staring. Once their pulsing energy had turned red, they had been pushed away from the object by their own natural power and had walled themselves off from it in an aura of swirling flame. These women were indeed stronger as a group than as individuals, and now their power swelled and pulsed as Yisador, the Matrix Queen, wielded it as raw, creative energy licking about her hands and arms like chain lightning.  
  
"Close it," she snarled to Stranna. "Close it before it reaches us. Before I destroy it and the ENTIRE time continuum with it, because so help me, if it even looks like it will escape, I will!"   
  
Stranna reached out with her mind. "I can't find the connection!" she shouted to the others. "I need help!"  
At once Charline, Gable and Olean forged a sublink with each other; Charline took the lead position, put her hand out and touched Stranna, giving her their combined power and strengths. Gable ferreted out the connection while Charline, Olean and Stranna kept the energy field stable, the strain visible on their faces. Yisador was still facing the object, now grown to ten times its normal size. She was demanding power from every woman in the room as she prepared to vaporize the threat, her aura and her eyes glowing brightly, her hair standing on end.   
  
"Don't fire, Yisador - I've got it!" Gable shouted. "Move back!"   
  
A loud POP sounded; the energy field sizzled, and the object shimmered, wavered, and finally vanished. A collective sigh of relief was exhaled around the room. The ruby flames surrounding each woman winked out, leaving each staring at the blackened palmboard in the center of the table.   
  
Charline, Gable and Olean were the first to recover. Silently, they went about the business of picking up the chairs and the discarded equipment, taking extreme care not to touch the palmboard on the table. One by one, the rest of the Guardians shook themselves out of their daze and started moving again, automatically righting the furniture and any other pieces of equipment they could find. Silence blanketed the room as the women took their seats around the table again, with Yisador at the head. They all stared at each other, waiting for someone else to start.  
  
Yisador cleared her throat and tried to say something, but nothing would come out. The word she wanted to say wouldn't go past the lump in her throat.  
  
"Saiyans," Meryth whispered for her.  



	5. Memories of the Past

Time Warriors Chapter 5  
********************  
  
"Saiyans," murmured Charline and Olean, looking at each other in wide-eyed fear.  
  
"That - that is a spacecraft from Earth - there is a delegation from that planet, going to the Argus system - and there are Saiyans on it," said Stranna, appalled. "Saiyans!" She whirled to face Yisador, making an effort to keep her voice calm, saying "... do you know what that means?"  
  
A beat passed as Yisador and Stranna locked eyes. "Yes - yes, I do," Yisador said woodenly.  
  
"Then you know who else must be on that ship." Stranna continued her own train of thought, her face chalk white. Yisador swallowed and said nothing.  
  
Charline said, stunned, "I - I thought they were all dead..."  
  
As if no one had spoken, Stranna continued, "...and Theo's going there ... and so is he ... " She looked at Yisador, wild-eyed, and spoke rapidly. "Okay - here's what you need to do. Call her back. Just call her back. Get her back here now, Yisador. Use the TARDIS recall - it'll bring her back here. We cannot permit her to go -"  
  
"Stranna, we can't stop her," Yisador replied.  
  
Stranna stood up and slapped her hand on the table. "How can you say such a thing? Of COURSE we can stop her - we cannot permit her to go, and that's final! She'll be-"  
  
"Stranna, we can't stop her - she's already on her way there."  
  
Stranna looked at her, nonplused. "Are you serious? So what? I don't care if she's landed on the damned planet -- call her back! Look, send one of us - send me, for Kami's sake, or send someone else, I don't care - I don't care WHAT you do, but DO something, dammit!" Stranna shouted the last part at Yisador, real fear shining out of her eyes.   
  
"No," Yisador said, staring at her friend.  
  
A beat passed as Stranna locked eyes with Yisador again. "You know who it is, Yisa. Who it has to be. You can't do that to her - you can't let her walk into that," Stranna whispered.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Gable asked, confused. "Who's this 'he'?"  
  
Ignoring Gable, Yisador looked at Stranna and said around the tightness in her chest, "I can't do anything, Stranna. Neither can you." Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Could any of you control that temporal energy field that held their spacecraft? And we only held it for a few moments ..."  
  
"No," said Stranna heavily. "We were barely able to keep it stable, let alone control it." She shook her head and stared back at Yisador. "What are you suggesting? That the reason we couldn't control the field is due to the Saiyans? That it was their power that -" A horrified expression chased across her face. "If that's true, then than means -" She stopped speaking, clamping her mouth shut.  
  
"What? What? What does it mean?" asked Gable, fully involved.   
  
Meryth swallowed and answered, "Think about it. We couldn't control the ship in the net - that means that it's important in the continuum, which also means we can't touch it or events connected with it. And I'm sorry, Yisa, but I don't think we're strong enough to take on that power - it felt immense."  
  
"Agreed," Olean said fervently. "Even linked, all of us were no match for it. We'd need Theo to moderate -"   
  
"-but Theo can't moderate, because she's in one of those connected streams, isn't she?" Stranna said to Yisador, suppressed anger and alarm in her tone. "This is part of what you saw, isn't it? And we're part of it too, aren't we?"  
  
Yisador inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment, her expression tight and closed.   
  
"I thought we were finished with those beasts!" Stranna burst out, pushing herself up and away from the table. She glared at Yisador and threatened, "I'm going to find a way, Yisa. She will not become linked with that brute again - I will move Heaven and Hell to make sure of it. I won't permit it!" With that, she whirled away from the group and stalked out of the room, banging the door behind her.   
  
Watching her friend leave, Yisador murmured, "I hope you find a way, Stranna. I hope you do, because every other way is closed to me."   
  
****************  
  
The stars looked beautiful. Cold, sparkling light was strewn about space in seemingly random order, as if someone had taken a handful of diamond dust and flung it out toward the heavens. Still and all, order prevailed among the randomness; there were vague outlines of patterns that flowed into each other, describing shadowy trails across the sky. Stars appeared to be arrayed together, as if an invisible thread bound them to each other; they were separate, yet inextricably linked. But the clustering of the stars was only obvious to those who could observe from a safe distance. Those who were too close could feel the force the bodies exerted on each other - yet they had no perspective, no true idea of the overall design being made with the rest of the cosmos.  
  
Vejiita was standing at a window on the observation deck, his upper body partially obscured in shadow. He had opted to keep the lights dimmed in this section because he did not want to be seen, and therefore bothered, by anyone. There was a great deal on the mind of the Saiyan prince, not the least of which was his troubling inability to identify the power that had invaded his ship.  
  
His ship - that was the crux of the matter. This power had come literally out of the void of space and taken over the minds and bodies of the people on his ship, people who were under his protection. A large part of his psyche shook in rage at the audacity of any being that dared touch anything that was his. He longed to seize the creature by the throat and batter it into submission for its insolence in challenging his authority before he blasted it to oblivion.  
  
In contrast, a calmer, more rational part of his mind insisted he identify the power before he destroyed it, and that was where most of his difficulty began. He realized that he recognized the energy signature; in fact, he felt as though he was intimately familiar with it - but its actual identification eluded his reach. Instinctively, Vejiita had known how to overcome the tendrils of power that had gently forced their way into his ship. It was his maddening certainty of how to do it without the understanding of why it was correct that piqued his pride.   
  
"Vejiita? Vejiita, are you here?"  
  
Is there no place where I am safe from prattling fools? he wondered, his eyes closing momentarily in exasperated annoyance. He heard the other man's movements behind him at the door to the observation lounge and groaned.  
  
"Vejiita?" came the hushed question again.  
  
"Over here, baka," he snapped impatiently, glaring over his shoulder at the shadow of Gokuu. "What do you want?"  
  
Gokuu padded over to Vejiita and stood next to him, facing the stars. "Bulma was looking for you," the larger Saiyan murmured, looking at the vista spread before the observation room window. He was silent as he stared into the blackness of space, his eyes wide and wondering.  
  
"Well?" Vejiita inquired sardonically after a few minutes, arching one eyebrow in Gokuu's direction. "Is that all?"  
  
Gokuu shrugged, his good humor a shield against the smaller Saiyan's sarcasm. "Bulma said that we'll be at Argus VI pretty soon - within the next couple of hours. And," he said, frowning in thought, "she wants us to keep an eye on that short man with the bald head."  
  
Vejiita softly snorted, turning his attention to the stars. The chief negotiator ... such a weakling. "Why? Is he going to do something interesting?"  
  
Gokuu grinned. "I dunno," he replied affably. "Bulma said that the other people were ... ah ... 'twitchy.' And then she said she wants to make sure everything's okay when we land."  
  
The Saiyan prince grunted in reply.  
  
As he stood next to him with his arms folded across his chest, Gokuu surreptitiously looked at Vejiita, trying to gauge the man's mood. He didn't seem to be angry or upset - which was always a plus - but he did appear to be preoccupied, his habitual tight control evident in the set of his shoulders and the squareness of his jaw.   
  
"Well, what else do you want, Kakarotto?" Vejiita slid his gaze over to Gokuu, catching the younger Saiyan watching him. "And stop staring at me."  
  
"Um ...," Gokuu started, a light color washing into his cheeks, "I want to know what happened this afternoon."  
  
Vejiita's gaze flickered over Gokuu a moment, considering; as he turned back toward the window, he muttered, "So do I," his eyebrows drawn together in a formidable scowl.   
  
"But Piccolo said you knew that power," Gokuu continued, watching the frown deepen on the other Saiyan's face, "so I was wondering if -"   
  
"The Namekian needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," retorted Vejiita, glowering. "But yes ... I've felt it before." He fell silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing to slits.  
  
"You did, Vejiita? Where?" Gokuu asked, curious.  
  
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be standing here trying to figure it out, now, would I, baka?" snapped the prince in vexation.   
  
"No, I suppose not," the taller man agreed. A short silence fell between them, punctuated only by the hum of the air scrubbers as they stared through the window.   
  
It was Vejiita who spoke first, startling Gokuu out of his reverie. "At any rate," he mused, "... it's more a question of when than where." A pensive, introspective air had replaced his earlier irritation; his shoulders relaxed imperceptibly as tension slipped away from them.   
  
Gokuu made no response, hoping his silence would encourage Vejiita to keep talking.   
  
It did. The prince gathered his thoughts and started again, turning his head to gaze at the younger man, a distant look in his dark eyes. "Before the destruction of our planet - before Vejiitasei was destroyed by Freeza - I fought with Freeza's planet clearing squads. We prepared planets for their new owners by 'relocating' the old ones." He stopped for a moment, nodding wryly to himself, then continued. "On our way to those planets, our pods were programmed to give us information about the old owners; their level of technology, their society, their military - things like that. We had information about their chi potential, whether or not they could manipulate chi, and whether or not they were psychic. It made a difference, you see, as to how we attacked them."  
  
Pausing for a moment, Vejiita looked at the other man's expression and wondered in cynical bewilderment, why am I telling him this at all? He has no idea what I'm saying ... Despite his doubts he plowed on, the urge to describe and share his feelings with a fellow Saiyan a compulsion so strong it was impossible to ignore.  
  
"This power, Kakarotto," he said, clenching his left fist in front of his chest as if he had captured something in it, "this power is familiar to me - very familiar. I know that I met this energy before I became one of Freeza's warriors - before Vejiitasei was destroyed. It has a sense and texture all its own, but I can't - quite - place it!" His frustration and anger was completely obvious, as his face contorted into a snarl and his arm trembled with the intensity of his rage.  
  
"How old were you when this happened, Vejiita?" Gokuu asked, his voice low. He hadn't heard Vejiita speak with such passion for a long while; usually, the prince kept his personal feelings and observations to himself, and hardly ever spoke about his life before he met Gokuu. From the few occasions when he did speak about it, though, the descriptions of what it had been like had been enough for Gokuu's unruly hair to stand on end. And he knew that Vejiita had only revealed what he wanted others to see; to discover anything else, one needed to be observant and watchful, waiting for opportunities like this.  
  
Vejiita shook his head, remembering. "Let's see ... I was ... five, almost six." An odd gleam surfaced in his eyes, something akin to abhorrence and loathing that was mixed with a strange fire. "I was sent to work for Freeza when I was almost six. I was sent ... to ... Freeza ... some months after that." Vejiita's face lost some of its color as his expression turned hard and flinty; Gokuu could almost feel him pushing other recollections away, pressing them back into the recesses of his memory. "I know I met the beings with this energy signature before I was sent to Freeza. I am certain of that."  
  
Waves of psychic pain were hovering in the air between them, pain that was caused by memories Vejiita would never consciously reveal. The little tyrant had commanded the Saiyan prince for more than twenty years, so it was not surprising that Gokuu would notice some fragments of that ghastly experience surfacing in Vejiita's subconscious occasionally. While his mind could not begin to fathom the depths of depravity the prince had been forced to endure, he felt the intensity of his suffering and wondered how he had survived relatively sane and unscathed.   
  
The urge to comfort his friend was strong; but Gokuu knew that either touching Vejiita or offering him any help would drive him away from the shaky intimacy they now shared. He willed himself silent again.   
His expression set, Vejiita turned back to the window and said evenly, "But whatever it is, Kakarotto, it is foolish - it attacked me, my ship, and the people on my ship. THAT will not happen again. Or, if it does - " and he flexed his hand again in front of his chest suggestively, curling his lip as he did, - "that creature will surely regret it."  
  
"But it didn't feel like an evil chi, Vejiita," ventured Gokuu. "It just felt as though it was - exploring. Curious. Not evil at all. And, " he said, cocking his head to one side as he visualized the scene, "once it touched us, it changed. It became - careful. Alert. And when it backed away from us, it seemed -afraid."   
Vejiita threw a sharp look in Gokuu's direction as he nodded, "Yes. It recognized us, Kakarotto - it recognized me, and was afraid. That's very good - but," and he snarled, a growl vibrating deep in his throat, a sound that was savage and threatening, "it isn't enough."   
  
Moving so that he could stare comfortably into the taller Saiyan's eyes, Vejiita promised in an icy tone, "I will find this power, Kakarotto. It's not evil, but it made a very large mistake - one I fully intend to correct. I will not allow anything to attack something that I protect." Nor anything that's mine, he thought, returning his arms to their folded position across his chest as he glared at the other Saiyan, silently daring him to contradict his prince.  
  
"I understand, Vejiita," Gokuu said quietly. He met Vejiita's gaze with his own for a few moments, then looked through the observation window again.   
  
*************  
  
"So ... let me see if I understand this correctly ..."  
  
Theo and Allyssa had been sitting in the TARDIS kitchen for some time as Theo unwound the painful story of her enslavement by the Saiyans. Allyssa had heard some parts before; in fact, when Yisador had approached her about accompanying Theo off planet, she told her some of the things Theo had recounted. Some, but certainly not all - and not in such excruciating detail.  
  
"This channel - this attachment the child made with you is - permanent? Meaning that, if you were to see him today -"  
  
"-he would claim me as 'his' Guardian and I would be bound to him. If, that is, he recognized who I was and remembered what happened between us," Theo finished dully, twirling her empty orange juice glass between her hands. "And knowing him, that's exactly what would happen. He's -" She broke off and clutched the glass in her hands until her fingers turned white.  
  
"Theo," Allyssa said, reaching across the table and taking the glass. "Let go."  
  
Raw pain was in her voice as she continued, "You don't understand, Ally, you just don't understand. I couldn't close my mind to him - I couldn't push him out - and because I taught him coercion, I couldn't refuse him anything." Her face had turned a shade paler, but she resolutely continued, her voice hushed to a whisper. "I didn't leave Homeworld for years because of that. I couldn't bear thinking that one day he'd find me, and I'd end up tied to him - forever - " She looked at Allyssa, a hunted, trapped expression in her eyes, and fell silent.  
  
"Surely not forever," Allyssa said, leaning back in her chair, trying to lighten the mood. "Nothing lives forever, not even Guardians."  
  
"I hope he's dead," Theo muttered bitterly. "The rest of them are, anyway. My mother told me that the entire planet exploded when the TARDIS slipped into the time stream. Some freak asteroid slammed into it, or something like that." She shook her head, exhaling a shaky breath, shivering. "Good riddance. I hated those people, Ally - I absolutely, positively hated them. If the Kaious, in their infinite wisdom, allowed us to make just one change - just one, anywhere in the time continuum - I'd go back and sterilize the damn planet that spawned their genome."   
  
Allyssa looked Theo with a practiced eye and understood what she left unsaid. "Theo. If you're so afraid of this particular Saiyan, then why don't we just move to another timestream - one where he definitely doesn't exist?"  
  
Theo's head drooped as she frowned, wrinkling her nose. "You know why - you're a Gant, you've lived with Time Lords long enough."   
  
Allyssa shook her head in perplexity. Theo sighed.  
  
"I can't do that," Theo replied, dejected. "I mean, we can go into any future or past that we like - but once we're there, we can't truly interact with anyone - we're not permitted. "Look but don't touch" - Time Lord creed and all that."  
  
"But you're not a Time Lord," her companion pointed out.  
  
Theo snorted, obviously irritated. "No kidding - but this happens to be the one thing that Guardians can't do, either. It's a stupid rule, if you ask me, but - there you are. Besides," she added, sighing, "the probability of choosing a timestream that doesn't contain one individual is zero. It's possible, but highly unlikely. And with my luck, I'd pick the one where Vejiitasei took over the universe, and there'd be billions of those barbarians running around - including him." She shook her head, discouraged.   
  
Allyssa reached across the table and took Theo's hand, tugging gently until Theo looked at her.   
  
"But here, in this timestream, they're all dead," she said quietly, "and that vicious little Prince is probably just as dead." Allyssa lightly squeezed Theo's hand, releasing it. "You shouldn't think about it anymore. Put it out of your mind."  
  
"I wish my subconscious understood that," Theo responded, looking down. "It doesn't believe he's dead. I keep seeing these ... these flashes ... bits and pieces of things happening ... And when I'm asleep, the dreams ... these voices ... they just won't leave me alone ..." A vision of Calipt'dor swam in front of her eyes, indistinct and blurry. "It's awful...," she whispered.   
  
Enough of this - if I don't do something soon, she's going to fall apart, Allyssa realized.   
  
"That's enough," the Gant said roughly, spurred to action. Theo looked up, surprised, as Allyssa abruptly stood and moved around the table, drawing Theo to her feet. "We've talked about this enough - you don't need to feel sorry for yourself, since there's nothing we can really do about it. So for now - just forget it. Put it behind you."   
  
Theo glared at Allyssa, then nodded and swallowed. "I'll try," she promised.  
  
"Good," Allyssa said, looking at her critically. "You need a change of scene, so let's go see what Elyse is doing. We'll be at Argus VI pretty soon, I think."  
  
"Argus VI?" Theo repeated, pushing the seat of her chair under the table and giving herself a mental shake. She's right ... just push this stuff aside until later ... "Is that where you two decided to go?"   
  
"Well, yes," Allyssa drawled, following Theo to the kitchen doorway. "They have some pretty good 'recreational facilities' there, or so the database said."  
  
"Heh," Theo replied, a broad smile lighting up her face, stopping and looking at Allyssa over her shoulder. "Did you look and see what kind of 'facilities' they have?"  
  
"Didn't have to," her friend replied, grinning back. "Once Elyse told me that you and Stranna had been there before and liked it, well ... I knew automatically what was on the planet. And I figured you wouldn't mind going back."   
  
"Are you kidding? - not at all!" Theo walked into the hallway, her mood lightening. "Hey, let's make sure we land near the Alerian Sink. I liked that place." Theo's voice floated back to Allyssa as she briskly strode toward the control room in eager anticipation, her bathrobe firmly knotted around her waist.  
  
Much better, Allyssa thought, nodding her head as she followed Theo. I knew that'd do it.  
  
*************  
  
"Mama, you can't go out looking like that!"  
  
"Why not?" wondered Theo, staring at her daughter with a puzzled look on her face. She was standing at the TARDIS console, bag in hand, ready to leave. She took a quick look down at her clothes. "Isn't this okay?"  
  
"Your clothes are fine, Mama," Elyse said, nodding her red head with exaggerated patience, "but you certainly don't look like the locals. Didn't you say you wanted to blend in? Well, your hair and eye color practically scream that you're not Argarian."  
  
Allyssa appeared in the doorway of the control room, dressed in a soft tunic, pants and boots, her dark hair pulled back into a knot on the back of her head. "She's right, you know," she said, cocking her head to one side, her scar showing faintly, green eyes assessing Theo's appearance. "You'll never pass looking like that."  
  
She turned and looked in the mirror hanging next to the doorway, and sighed. They were right.  
  
"Everybody's a critic," Theo muttered, annoyed. "What do you suggest I do?"  
  
"First off," said Allyssa, an amused grin pulling at the corners of her mouth, "you could dye your hair."  
Silence. Theo glared at her, but Allyssa continued, her grin becoming broader as Elyse nodded encouragingly.  
  
"That would work, Mama. It's not that bad, and it's not permanent. We could do something so that it would wash out in about a week."  
  
Theo grit her teeth. "Wonderful. All right - I could do that," she agreed sullenly. "But I can't dye my eyes."   
  
Allyssa considered. "No, but you changed their color once before. How did you do it? ... let me see ... you were with your mother, a couple of days before we left ..."  
  
Theo stared at her, a strange expression on her face. "I have to use power to do that."  
  
Allyssa stared back. "Problem?"  
  
"Well ... no, I suppose not ... it's just that ..."  
  
"I know you don't like to use it," Allyssa said quietly, "but I don't see any other way. Besides, this is harmless."  
  
Elyse looked on with interest. "What do you have to do, Mama?"  
  
"It's - it's sort of weird, honey," Theo said, wrinkling her nose. "Young Time Lords do it when they're choosing their appearance. I have an aunt that has dark brown hair and brown eyes ... and using creation will ... oh, never mind, I'll show you ..."  
  
And she took a deep breath, concentrating, and let the memory of that time with her mother flood through her senses. The feel of the power running through her body and mind, the look of her aunt in the holograph she had been viewing, the slight *twist* she felt in her brain as something happened, and the warm rush of power from the wellspring tingling in her head and behind her eyes ...  
  
"Mama, that's amazing!" Elyse cried. "I even felt that over here!"  
  
Allyssa just smiled.  
  
Theo looked in the mirror again. The reflection that peered out was a woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and brown eyes, fairly nondescript, nothing remarkable in her regular features.  
  
"That's much better," she said with satisfaction. "Now I don't have to dye my hair!"  
  
"How long will it last?" asked Elyse, curious.  
  
"As long as I need it. I suppose, though," Theo said, musing, "that if I lose my concentration somehow, I'll lose it ... but your Aunt Stranna told me that it's almost impossible for me to lose concentration that way."   
  
"Why?" Elyse asked again.  
  
Theo glanced at Allyssa, who shrugged. "Umm ... well ... because I have a grifton, that's why."  
  
Elyse's eyes grew as big as saucers and her mouth dropped open. "No kidding? You have a grifton, Mama? I've only heard stories about people who have them - why didn't you tell me about this before?"  
  
Theo appeared extremely uncomfortable as she replied, "Uh ...well ... it just never came up. But I really don't want to talk about it now - "  
  
"But, Mama -"  
  
"Not now dear - please!" Theo snapped, disturbed.   
  
Elyse looked back at her with a hurt expression; Theo scowled furiously. "All right ... later," she promised, softening a bit. "It's really not a big thing, though."  
  
"Your mom's just cranky," Allyssa said slyly, winking at Elyse. "Don't take it personally."  
  
"She's always cranky," Elyse complained. "And she never wants to talk about anything at all-"  
  
"Yet another sign of advancing age," Allyssa quipped, watching Theo's face turn an inelegant shade of red.  
  
"Are you two finished?" Theo demanded, looking irked again, her arms akimbo and her eyes flashing fire.  
  
Allyssa smirked at Theo. "Probably," she replied as she walked over to Elyse, ignoring Theo's glower. "What do you think, dear?"  
  
Elyse chuckled with Allyssa, her large eyes gray and sparkling. "I suppose so," she said. "But remember, Mama, you promised to tell me about your grifton later."  
  
"Fine, fine - later," Theo repeated, folding her arms and scowling. "Can we go now, please?"  
  
"In a minute, Theo," Allyssa chided, staring at the other woman. "We have to make sure that Elyse knows what she's doing."   
  
Theo lowered her gaze, still scowling: Allyssa grinned.  
  
"So," she said with a smile, turning to Theo's daughter, "What are you going to do?"   
  
"Most of the time I'll be staying with the ship while the two of you are out. I'm also going to check the rec facilities over here." Elyse pointed at a location on the holographic map displayed above the control panel. "I'll use our money and buy us a couple of spots on the beach near the ocean, and we'll let the TARDIS look like one of their little huts on the sand. "  
  
"Perfect, dear," Theo said, looking up again. "And what are you going to do with the TARDIS while we're gone?"   
  
"Hmm. I'm going to let you guys off here - then I'm going to the beach, outside the city -" she said, pointing, "and after several hours, I'll be coming right back to these very coordinates. I'll stay here for a few hours, and then -"  
  
"And then you'll move the TARDIS, because we don't want to get caught by anything unfriendly in this time stream," finished her mother.   
  
"Right," Elyse said, nodding her red head emphatically.   
  
Looking over at Allyssa, Theo asked, "Well? Are we finally ready?"  
  
"I think so," Allyssa replied, looking smug. "We're in the best part of town, anyway."  
  
"Oh?" Theo said, arching her eyebrow. "And what makes this part so special?"  
  
"Look at the readout and see what I mean," Allyssa responded with a sly grin.  
  
Theo leaned over the console and peered at the screen. A broad smile quickly spread across her face, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Ah ha! You are right, as always - this is exactly where I want to be."   
  
She grabbed her long bag and slung it over her shoulder as she moved away from the console and started digging through it. "Okay, let's see ... keys? Check! Remote? Check! Money? ... umm ... hmm ... we're a little light on money here, Ally. We gave most of it to Elyse ..."  
  
"No worries, dear," Allyssa said cheerfully with a wink. "Our luck is about to change ... and for the better, I think."  
  



	6. An Argarian Welcome

Time Warriors Chapter 6   
********************  
  
The H'trch first mate had not slept during her assigned rest period - instead, she found it necessary to calm herself by mentally calculating the required jump coordinates for their approach to Argus VI. She found pure mathematics to be a soothing pastime, one in which she could lose herself. However, even this attempt at distraction became tired and mundane as she found her thoughts returning again and again to her family. Her dead family.  
  
Pathetic, she scorned as she thought about her futile efforts to focus her attention, mentally shaking herself. I am utterly pathetic. The captain deserves better effort than this. We cannot afford weaknesses of any kind. I am a warrior - I refuse to give into my weakness.   
  
Now she was on duty again. "Captain, we're nearing the Argus system," Sh'mg announced into the commlink from the bridge. "You had requested that once we reached this location that you be notified."  
  
"Notification understood, First," the reply crackled from the link. "Inform me when we achieve standard orbit around Argus VI. Use Proteus on our approach and standardize our orbit - then report to the shuttle bay with the rest of the ground crew."  
  
"Yes, sir," the First said immediately.  
  
"Out." The captain disconnected the link.  
  
Sh'mg turned to the navigator and said, "Plot a course to the identified planet, Argus VI, using these coordinates. Once there, enter into a standard orbit."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Sh'mg sat down in the captain's chair behind the navigator and sent the data from her screen. "Initialize the Proteus device for use," she said to the engineer.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," replied the engineer from his post. His thick, rocklike fingers flew over his console, tapping out a complicated pattern, one that appeared to be replicated on the outside of his helmet.  
  
The First watched the engineer impassively as he concentrated on the task at hand.  
  
*********  
  
"We've received a hail, sir, on general channels - from the Tempest, out of Sol system, planet Earth."  
  
"Yes, they're expected," the officer on duty said, looking at the display. "Right on time, as well. Anxious, I expect. Acknowledge them, and instruct them to berth at Port City 4."  
  
"Aye, sir," confirmed the cadet, not allowing his eyes to wander off his screens. "Acknowledging hail, sir, with instructions to berth at Port City 4."  
  
The officer shook his head slightly, and went back to his own screen, murmuring, "Carry on," to the cadet, who was furiously transmitting data to the incoming ship. Changing data links, the officer continued to monitor the rest of the bridge consoles, seeing the traffic moving about the port. A small yellow light started flashing in the lower left-hand corner of his screen, small enough not to attract too much attention, but placed so that anyone at that terminal would be able to see it immediately.   
  
Casually switching the terminal to a new frequency, the officer said to the room at large, "Carry on - Mr. Kingst will have the comm while I am out on business. For approximately 2 standard hours, all right, Mr. Kingst?"  
  
"Yes, sir," the comm ops officer said, moving from his terminal to the command link terminal. As the officer walked out of the control room, he could hear his first saying, "Cadet, switch frequencies to..."  
  
The officer briskly strode down the corridor toward the bank of offices at the end, nodding to the people he saw in the passageway. As he moved to the reception area, he turned a brilliant, insincere smile toward the woman behind the desk, knowing the effect his craggy good looks and perfect teeth had on her.  
  
"Is General Trisk in?" he inquired pleasantly. "And if he is, may I see him for a few minutes? Nothing urgent, but something has come up..."  
  
"One moment please, Lieutenant," she said, smiling at him. She walked over to the office door, knocked softly and went into the room. After a few moments, she reappeared, smiling. "Please go in, Lieutenant," she said, lowering her eyes as he passed by.  
  
Heh ... so easy, he thought as he swept by her and walked into the office.   
  
A large, portly man was seated in a gray office behind a modern metallic desk, idly flicking through several holographic screens. He glanced up when he heard the door close; his tan face wore a sly, calculating look. With a sigh, he rapidly closed the connections to several open screens, leaving only what appeared to be a docking manifest with a small yellow light flashing in its lower left hand corner.  
  
"Good morning, General Trisk," the lieutenant greeted him, standing smartly at attention in front of the desk.  
  
"Good morning, Lieutenant Grant," rumbled the general. "I see our friends have come to visit us again." He gestured at the small yellow light strobing on the screen. "Very wise of you to connect an identifier to that Proteus equipment we sold them last year. Otherwise, we'd have absolutely no idea when they decided to pay us a call."   
  
"Thank you, sir," the lieutenant responded. "I wanted to see you in person to receive your orders regarding ...them."  
  
The general gave him a measuring glance, and then looked over the manifest again. "I'm not sure exactly what . our friends . want this time," he said, shaking his head. "The last several times they visited, I had at least a few hours' warning; this time, they're just showing up on our doorstep. Very strange."  
  
"I'm sure that we will be able to satisfy their requests," the lieutenant replied smoothly. "We have quite a bit of the resource stockpiled already; it's simply a question of determining what type of mechanical items they require."  
  
"Really?" the general snorted, looking at the lieutenant in disbelief. "So our only worry is what type of mechanical items they want? Grant, you are an absolute fool."   
  
Grant's cold blue eyes narrowed and his thin mouth tightened as General Trisk curled his lip in disgust, aversion in every line of his corpulent body. "Those ... things ... are so alien that I can hardly stand to talk about them, let alone trade with them. The only reason we tolerate them is because they can pay. Otherwise," he said in a menacing tone, his jowls shaking, "I would have blasted them to the depths of space long ago. " He fastened his gaze on Grant. "How much inventory do we have on hand for them?"  
  
Lieutenant Grant swallowed, becoming acutely aware of the sweat starting to trickle between his shoulder blades. "We have quite a bit of it here, and several stores of it placed at various sinks around the planet. If, that is, we require additional ... supplies."   
  
"Good," the general murmured, calling up other manifests. "We have so much of this ... substance ... that it is stealing warehouse space from us. And I certainly don't want to make more if we don't have to. We only use slaves, but still...." He frowned, his small eyes squinting at the screens. "We must get in contact with the other statcomm systems to make sure they know our friends have arrived. And since you are the closest thing to an expert about the rocks as we have, I'm placing you in charge of resupplying them."  
  
"Yes, sir," he said crisply, hiding his fear.  
  
"As to other matters," the general said, shifting his bulk in his chair as his frown deepened to a scowl, "there's a new cruiser coming from the rim that's been announcing its position every few hours. It's incredibly annoying. It can only be that delegation from the new planet, Earth."  
"Sir?"  
  
The general made a crude gesture and said dismissively, "Feh! One of the 'bright Newbie' races that's been in the Alliance for all of about 15 standard minutes - they think they know everything about the galaxy and how it works. Feh! Arrogant fools!" The general smiled then, a cruel, malevolent twist of his lips and said, "They are coming to speak to us about trade routes, the Alliance, how to stay out of the way of the Federation - all of it. Mostly, they will be spending time with our 'protocol representatives' and visiting some of the manufacturing facilities to look at our new hydronic drives."  
  
Lieutenant Grant sketched a smile at the mention of the drives, as he had 'liberated' the plans to that particular drive from an extremely reluctant client. Fortunately, they had been able to replicate most of the machine, and the parts that they could not reproduce they simply omitted. Their own engineers continued to work on the plans.  
  
The general continued, his slitted eyes glittering in his face. "However, our intelligence tells us that they actually seem to have something of value on that ship - a prototype of a portable time machine. Apparently, they still have to work the bugs out of it - but once they do..."  
  
That sounds interesting, Grant thought. Aloud, he offered, "Perhaps we may be afforded a look at the equipment, especially as we need to assist them with protocol and the like when disembarking."  
  
"We will see," the general said, nodding at his lieutenant. "I'm sure that you will be needed to act as liaison for the Argarians. In fact," he said decisively, "I'm putting you in charge of the "welcoming team" for these people. Make sure they are comfortable, well fed, and kept away from our security areas during their stay. You know the drill."  
  
"Yes, sir," replied the lieutenant. "Thank you, sir."  
  
"Understand that this doesn't mean that you can't meet our other clients when they decide to come in," the general continued, giving him a sideways glance. "You simply have a bit more to do."  
  
"I understand completely, sir," the lieutenant said, nodding, "and I assure you, I will find out anything and everything that we need to know about those people from Earth and their technology."  
  
"Yes, I'm sure you will," nodded the general, closing his eyes.  
  
***********  
  
The small craft appeared out of nowhere, aimlessly rolling in the upper atmosphere of Argus VI, its destination uncertain. Apparently, orientation was not something that bothered the inhabitants of the craft, as the bottom, top and sides were presented to the ground in equal measure as it roiled in the air currents.   
  
Argarian ground tracking devices picked up an unidentified object moving quickly in their upper atmosphere and transmitted the information to the main center near the Alerian Sink, in Port City 4. A small blip appeared on the main technician's screen, marking the object's telemetry in small yellow gliphs. The technician glanced at it once and called up an identification program simultaneously, keying in the information while thinking about how long he was going to sleep after going off duty; he had, after all, been pulling double shifts ever since those other people from his unit had been transferred. Barely keeping his eyes open, he stared at the results of the identification program -- 'No matches available' -- and groaned.   
  
This is stupid, he thought to himself, this is probably just some decaying, rotting space junk that decided to take a dive during my duty. Taking a quick look around, he noticed that most of the other techs were either on break or absorbed with the data at their own terminals.   
  
I am not wasting my time following this - this thing, he thought, rebelling, someone else can do it later. He took another quick look around, and swiftly typed "Anomaly - probable satellite decay" next to the telemetry path, noted the date and time, saved and logged the comments and closed the identification program. That's enough of that, he thought, yawning and stretching in his chair, immediately forgetting the incident.  
  
Still gliding through the air, the ship slid smoothly from one current to the next, continuing its torturous rolls and turns. It continued on its erratic flight path for several more moments; however, it did appear that the craft had finally decided where it was interested in going and what part of the ship was going to be considered 'up.' Had the technician still been monitoring its route, the final destination of the "space junk" would have surprised, even alarmed him. The ship was on course for the heart of the Alerian Sink, one of the most notorious and best-kept secrets of Argus VI.  
  
**************  
  
The front guard looks impressive, thought Lieutenant Grant. That should make them think a bit. He stood at the head of the guard, next to the guard captain, waiting for the new arrivals to disembark. Several Argarian diplomats were waiting on the tarmac with him, their long, gray tunics blowing gently in the hot breeze.   
  
They would have to arrive on one of the hottest days of the year, Grant thought cynically. The heat was coming off of the tarmac in a visible shimmer, reducing distant objects to blurs. I hope they get out here soon, he grumbled to himself, feeling beads of perspiration trickle down the side of his face, or else they'll have to pry the soles of our boots off the macadam.   
  
He was uncomfortably hot. As he looked at the diplomats, he had a fleeting envy of their long, loose tunics with open collars. Military protocol what it was, the forces were required to wear their dress uniforms whenever they greeted any dignitaries from outside their system. He pulled his eyes away from the diplomats and fastened them on the closed door of the cruiser that had landed approximately twenty standard minutes ago.  
  
Where are they? he wondered, impatient.  
  
Just as he thought he would have to approach the craft and actually knock, the door swung slowly outward. The first people out of the craft looked positively strange to him; they were all quite physically impressive, but had little or no armor on to speak of, wore strange looking jumpsuits, and carried no weapons. Four of them flanked what appeared to be a small knot of civilians, diplomats by their dress. Other people were disembarking as well, among them an alien the likes of which he had never seen before - tall, green, and wearing an expression that warned most away. He shuddered, hoping he would not have to deal with that one.  
  
He put on his best face and marched with the Argarian representatives to meet them. He had the feeling as he was walking toward the delegation that he was being sized up, and just as quickly dismissed. He brushed his sidearm with his fingertips as he walked toward the cruiser and felt reassured. No one on any of the Argarian planets was faster than Grant with a light pistol, and he had never met his match outside his system, either. His back straightened imperceptibly.   
  
Vejiita, Gokuu, Gohan and Trunks were standing next to their representatives, watching the Argarian forces carefully, with Piccolo and Kuririn standing behind them. As the diplomats exchanged pleasantries, the warriors looked at the force surrounding the entrance to the city.   
  
All young, all weak, Vejiita thought, telepathically communicating with Gokuu. Look at them - not an interesting power among them.  
  
But Vejiita, Gokuu sent back, maybe they just aren't showing us what they can do.  
.  
Vejiita turned weary eyes on Gokuu. Baka, he thought impatiently, if there's no power here, then there's no power on the planet. We would see at least a small amount of what they have. Use your head!  
  
He turned his dark gaze on the uniformed man with the Argarian diplomats, raking over his power potential. Feh, he thought, nothing but boasting. Give me ten seconds with this one, and then we'll see how strong he is.  
  
Grant met his gaze, and felt an immediate challenge. He knew that Vejiita was not like the members of the delegation at all; and as a matter of fact, he had a crawly, uneasy feeling about all of the people who looked like this short, muscular man in the jumpsuit. There was something about him that was positively feral; he felt as though a large predator was stalking him, just biding its time.  
  
He found himself wondering whether this man and his companions were the delegation's only protection - they certainly acted that way, and from their demeanor he could well believe they were.   
  
They certainly aren't human, he thought, they're too - too unusual. He brushed his gun again with his fingertips, giving himself a little more reassurance. Looking back surreptitiously at his complement of troops, he saw that the guard captain and several of the other ranking soldiers were having the same reaction as he - they were all nervously fingering their gun holsters, albeit standing at attention. He made a mental note to discuss this with the general. An entire platoon of men being unnerved by one alien wasn't good for morale - something would have to be done.  
  
Vejiita smiled at Grant; one side of his mouth quirked up as his eyebrows drew together over his glittering black eyes. Grant suppressed a shudder as he quickly looked away.  
  
Earth's negotiators and delegates were being ushered into the coolness of the surrounding buildings by the Argarian cadre. The Earth's technical crew, the warriors, and finally a few crewmembers carrying small equipment satchels followed them. Dr. Briefs and Bulma decided to leave the bulk of their equipment on the spacecraft, including the dismantled portable time generator. Surprisingly enough, both the engineers and the senshi agreed that the spacecraft was the most defensible position available to them, and that it made sense to leave the equipment right where it was.  
  
Trunks walked next to his mother and grandfather as they followed the diplomats across the tarmac and into the building, his head down and his lavender hair falling in his eyes. He was silent as usual, but all of a sudden felt something odd, almost electric, in the air. It reminds me of that time on the ship, when we were sparring, he thought, perplexed, but.. . the feeling's different somehow ... not as strong ... diffused ... He turned to speak to his mother, but the instant his gaze fell on Vejiita's scowling features he thought better of it and closed his mouth. Later, he thought to himself.  
  
Vejiita felt that charged, electric sensation at the same time his son noticed it, but recognized it immediately as the same power from the ship. His head swiveled around sharply as he scanned the assembled people for the hint of a familiar face, the flash of an expression. The identification of the power remained tantalizingly out of reach.  
  
Where - where is it? His muscles moving smoothly as though he was hunting prey, the Saiyan pushed his senses to pinpoint the power's source, his eyes narrowing in concentration. The weakness of the signal, though, made it impossible to determine exactly where it was.  
  
But it's here - and so's the one controlling it. He growled a deep sound in the back of his throat, startling some of the members of the diplomatic party. The chief negotiator looked over his shoulder at him and swallowed, his eyes growing larger.  
  
Baka, he thought irritably and glared at the little man. The negotiator gasped, turned his head and lost himself in the crowd of people in front of the senshi as he quickened his stride.   
  
A wash of uncontrollable emotions suddenly cascaded into his mind, feelings that momentarily overwhelmed him. His chest felt tight as he pushed himself to calmness and clarity, reasserting his iron fist over his feelings.   
  
I will find you, he vowed, forcibly submerged those emotions in his consciousness. You can't hide from me forever.   
  
******  
  
"They've all landed," said Stranna to Meryth as they relaxed in front of Yisador's fire. Stranna was holding a new palmboard, peering at the readouts.  
  
"What're the probability matrices looking like now?" Meryth asked, craning her neck to see the readouts.  
  
"Not very good," Stranna said gloomily to Meryth, punching buttons. "I don't dare try to capture anything else to examine it because of ... well, because of what happened the last time. You know." Meryth nodded as Stranna shivered. "I've never experienced anything like - well, anyway - I can't capture anything in that time stream now, and neither can anyone else." She sighed, staring at the palmboard. "I HATE sitting here and not being able to do anything to help her, Meryth. I just know what's going to happen -"  
  
"No, you just know what's probably going to happen," Meryth corrected her, "but I know what you   
mean."   
  
"We can only wait and watch, and wait, and watch," Stranna said, sounding angry. "It's absolutely galling. I'm going to find a way around that probability matrix, and when I do ..."  
  
"... then we're all going to go to Argus VI with you to save Theo," Meryth finished for her, wearily closing her eyes and leaning back against the cushions of the couch. "But you'd better make it soon, Stranna. These events are converging now, rather than later - and no amount of time travel's going to help that."  
  
Looking at her old friend, Stranna snorted softly and muttered, "I know, I know ... but not to worry. We'll be leaving sooner than you think, Meryth. Sooner than you think."  
  



	7. Settling In

Time Warriors Chapter 7  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Argus VI was a small planet - it orbited a minor star in an insignificant star system, far away from the galactic core. Nevertheless, for all its ordinariness, it was about to become more important than any of its inhabitants ever dreamed.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Port City 4 was in the northern hemisphere of Argus VI, on the eastern edge of the major continent. It was situated next to a strange topographical anomaly called the Alerian Sink, one of several gaseous sinks found around the planet's equator. The city held the largest spaceport on Argus VI, and it was the political focal point and military command center for the planet. Large, modern buildings of all colors and sizes were clustered at the heart of its downtown, the tallest ones dominating the skyline. Moving away from the center of the city, towering structures gave way to long, low, warehouses - and finally, at its very fringe, a rugged desert connected the city with the sea. To all appearances, it seemed to be just an average metropolis on an average Class 2 planet.  
  
But Port City 4 was different - it was schizophrenic, bordering on the psychotic.   
  
It presented its best and brightest face to the politicians and diplomats housed in its inner city, showering them with culture and refinement, the best of civilized life. If shopping and cultural events weren't enough, the city also offered a large, galactic-class recreational resort for the use of its visitors.   
  
Political power was another draw to Port City 4. It was a natural resource - something taken for granted by its visitors and carefully cultivated by its natives. It was power, after all, that brought people there - it was power that paid for people to stay there - and it was the siren call of power that insured people wanted to return. This side of the metropolis was beautiful and refined, with only a hint of corruption staining its edges.  
  
Not every visitor, though, was a politician or a diplomat. Many were crewmembers from space freighters moored above the atmosphere at the orbiting space station. Shuttles moved back and forth between docking platforms and the Port City 4 spaceport, transporting crew and cargo to the planet's surface. Once shipments were unloaded and work crews released from duty, an entirely new clientele roamed the side streets and alleyways of the warehouse quarter. This side of the city was coarse, untamed, and rapacious, its violent nature gleefully exposed.   
  
Spacer bars crowded next to each other, nondescript doorways bunched side to side that swallowed their patrons whole, belching wisps of smoke and odd, raucous sounds and smells. Off-duty Argarian soldiers were always in the district, paying no attention to anything except their own mercenary pursuits. Law enforcement was left in the hands of the individual. Offer the right price, and just about anything was available.  
  
Nearly everyone who had been to Argus VI knew about or had seen the city's dual personalities. It was part of its charm, after all; the experience of high class elegance and civility, with an added dollop of danger for the adventurous. Very few natives or visitors, though, knew about the city's third face - the one hidden in the Alerian Sink. Had they understood that some of their highest political and military leaders were doing business with aliens that had a definite 'taste' for their kind, interspecies war would have been the next logical step.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Hello? Hello, Mom? Are you there?"  
  
Bulma was standing with her arms akimbo, frowning at the small platform in the corner of the great room. Her travel suit was creased and rumpled, and several stray pieces of fine blue hair straggled across her forehead, dipping into the furrow between her eyes. The Argarians showed the Earth delegation to their various suites in the heart of Port City, the most elegant of which had full holographic communication ability.   
  
"Dad? I don't understand why this thing isn't working. What's the problem - are we doing something wrong?"   
  
Turning to look at her father, Bulma saw Dr. Briefs hunched over a small computer terminal near the platform, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the ash dipping precariously toward the keyboard. His fingers tapped out several intricate sequences as he squinted through his thick glasses at the screen, watching the figures slowly scroll.  
  
"I don't know, Bulma - I told your mother to stand at these precise coordinates right at this time. I even put the platform in the corner of the kitchen, so she wouldn't have to go to the lab looking for it." He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand, controlling the keyboard mouse with his right as his eyes searched the screen. "I just don't understand it. Can you see anything wrong?" he asked, turning his head to look at the Argarian liaison standing next to the console.  
  
"It appears that everything has been set correctly, sir," Lieutenant Grant replied, scanning the output on the screen. "The power's there and the connection's open. There will be a short lag time between transmissions due to the distance, but that shouldn't-"  
  
Suddenly a soft blue glow covered the platform's base, then pulled itself to the middle and shot vertically in the air. It immediately expanded, showing the translucent figure of a woman, shocked in mid-sentence, holding a large pitcher of something she was pouring off to the side. The liquid was flowing out of the pitcher into nothingness; apparently, the glass holding the liquid was not in the transmit range. It was a strange tableau.  
"Oh, what a surprise!" the holographic woman squeaked, immediately straightening and smoothing back her blonde hair with her free hand. "I had no idea I'd be able to see you - can you see me, too? Oh, please pay no mind to the state of the kitchen. We've had guests ever since you left, and the robots haven't been able to keep up with all the laundry and the cooking and cleaning -"  
  
"Mom-" Bulma started, but was cut off as her mother continued to chatter.  
  
"-and this technology is simply amazing, isn't it?" While she was speaking she put the pitcher down outside of the transmission range; it appeared that her hands vanished for a moment, then reappeared. "Bulma, dear, I can see you plain as day, but I can't see your father - is he there? Did everyone make it there all right?"  
  
"Well-" Bulma said, but again was cut off by her mother.  
  
"-Everyone here is just fine, just wonderful. Bra is so bright and precocious, she's into everything - oh, she's just like you when you were young. It reminds me of the time when you decided to take apart one of our cleaning robots, just to see what made them work. Oh, I think you were about three or four at the time, and-"  
  
"Mother, please," Bulma hissed, shaking her head and making cutting motions at the holograph, "don't tell that story."  
  
"-well, you took that little ratchet of yours and-"  
  
"What GOOD is a device where the other person can't even hear what you're saying? She doesn't even know we're trying to speak to her!" Bulma exploded, quickly turning to include her father and Lieutenant Grant in her wrathful glare, her face turning pink. "This is ridiculous!"  
  
"Try asking her to stop talking for a moment," the lieutenant replied, momentarily taken aback by Bulma's brief display of temper. "There is a lag time between transmission signals, so-"  
  
"-and it was just so cute when you stuck your hands on your hips and declared-"  
  
"MOTHER, PLEASE STOP TALKING, FOR KAMI'S SAKE!" Bulma shrieked at the translucent woman, her body trembling with suppressed rage. "No one cares what I did when I was that young -"  
  
"Oh, I do," immediately drawled a sarcastic baritone from across the room.  
  
"What?!"  
  
Bulma's head snapped around in that direction, her wide blue eyes narrowing in vexation as she watched Vejiita, Gokuu and Gohan amble across the marble floor toward her. Gokuu openly gawked at their fine surroundings, while Gohan was a bit more circumspect; however, his eyes still darted back and forth, lingering over some of the more extraordinary pieces of art displayed in the room. Vejiita, though, looked neither right nor left - his attention focused entirely on Bulma as he stopped at the computer table and smirked, his eyes dark and knowing as he folded his arms.  
  
"So?" he prompted, nodding toward the holograph. "Don't you have something to say?"  
  
She opened her mouth with an angry retort on the tip of her tongue, then thought better of it and turned to face the image of her mother. Even though it was transparent, Bulma could see that her likeness wore a puzzled, hurt look and was shaking her head slightly, hands clasped in front of her body. Guilt washed through her as she realized she had not only lost her temper, but had done it in front of everyone else - again.  
  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Mom," Bulma sighed, momentarily closing her eyes. "You didn't hear me the first couple of times. It must have been the transmission lag, I guess. Let's try not to speak so quickly."  
  
Mrs. Briefs stood still for a moment, her holographic image motionless on the platform. Then all at once she smiled and nodded vigorously, her short drop earrings bobbing with her head.   
  
"I see what you mean, dear," she said briskly, smiling. "It took a little while for me to hear you that time. Well, then ... why don't you tell us what has happened to you so far?"  
  
"What does she mean - 'us?'" Gohan murmured to his father as they looked at the holograph. "I thought she was alone. Except for Bra, I suppose ..."  
  
"I dunno," Gokuu whispered back, staring at the holograph with unfeigned interest. "This is great! Did you see how much food was in the kitchen? And look!" he hissed excitedly, pointing. "It's Bulma's mom! Wow, can she see us?" Gokuu started waving both hands and grinning broadly. "Hey - we're over here! Hi! How are you?"  
  
Vejiita looked at the younger man, shook his head in exasperated disbelief and shrugged his shoulders. "On Earth an idiot, everywhere an idiot."  
  
"Who else is there with you, Mother?" Bulma asked, raising her voice a bit.  
  
An expression of delight spread across Mrs. Briefs' face as she responded, "Well! It took a bit of doing, but nearly everyone is here, and I couldn't be happier. Once I explained how you'd be calling every now and then, and that parts of your new machine were here, and that things would get sent back and forth between us - well, it was amazing! Now someone is always here with me!"   
  
"You told Mom that we were going to send 'things' back and forth?" Bulma asked, looking sidelong at her father, incredulous.  
  
Dr. Briefs cleared his throat. "Um ... well ... I had to tell her something, Bulma ..."  
  
"Yes, but Dad ..."  
  
Lieutenant Grant stood next to Dr. Briefs, his blue eyes glued to the computer screen, ostensibly studying the output from the connection but listening carefully to what people said around him. You can't send 'things' through a holographic connection, so they must have plans to use their own equipment here, he reasoned. Sliding his gaze across the console, he noticed a nondescript large bag sitting next to the holograph base unit.   
  
Fascinating, he thought. That's just about the size I'd expect for some type of disassembled portable machine ... and they told everyone else their equipment was still in their spacecraft ... so that means that-  
  
"See anything you like?" a voice purred in his ear.  
  
Startled, the lieutenant instinctively pulled himself away from the computer console to find himself nearly nose to nose with Vejiita. Even though he was shorter than Grant, his physical presence was extraordinarily intimidating as he leaned forward and glared directly into the officer's eyes. Grant swore silently and forced himself to stand his ground.  
  
Mrs. Briefs' voice floated through the air as the men stared at each other: "... Goten's just at the refrigerator again. Goten, dear, come over and say hi to everyone on Argus ... and Bulma, pull Trunks over so Goten can see him - he's been so lonely lately ... do you know that he's the strongest person on Earth since everyone else left? Well, except for Juuhachi, I suppose ... "   
  
"Well?" the prince said softly, an aura of power surrounding him as he continued to stare at Grant, his arms folded across his chest.  
  
"I ... no sir, no, not at all," he stammered back, momentarily disconcerted, instinctively reaching for his gun.   
  
Vejiita saw the movement and raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Don't let me stop you," he said, nodding to Grant's hand. "But you'll only have one chance."  
  
Dr. Brief took that moment to push his chair away from the computer table, slamming into the lieutenant's legs and pushing him to the side.   
  
"Oh ... pardon me, pardon me," Dr. Briefs said, dismayed, rising from his chair to offer a hand to Grant. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you, sir," the lieutenant said, waving the doctor off as he massaged his injured leg. "No harm done - there's no problem, no problem at all."  
  
"Ah ... well, then ..." Dr. Briefs said, his quicksilver attention being drawn back to the computer console readouts, "thank you for showing us how to operate the equipment, Lieutenant... ah ... Lieutenant ...ah ..." said Dr. Briefs, stumbling over the officer's name.  
  
"Grant, sir. Lieutenant Grant," he offered, relieved that something other than Vejiita claimed his attention as he backed away from the computer console and turned toward the door of the apartment. "And now ... if you won't be needing me any more ..."  
  
"Ah, yes ... Grant," said Dr. Briefs absently, his attention pulled back to the equipment in front of him as he sank back into his chair. "No, no, no problem ... see you later ..."  
  
"Thank you, sir," he said respectfully, bowing slightly toward Bulma and her father. "If you require anything else, please don't hesitate to call me. We are pleased to serve you, and wish to make your stay on Argus as pleasant as possible." Staring at Vejiita again, Grant backed into the door, then simultaneously pushed his weight against it and twisted the door handle, escaping into the building corridor. The door closed softly behind him with a barely audible click.  
  
Gokuu looked over at the smaller Saiyan with a puzzled expression. "Why'd you do that, Vejiita?" Gokuu asked, bewildered. "Why'd you scare him like that?"  
  
"Because I don't like him, I don't trust him, and I don't want him around," Vejiita rejoined shortly, lowering his eyebrows at Gokuu. "Is that good enough for you?"  
  
"I don't trust him either," a voice rumbled from the opposite end of the room. As Gokuu and Vejiita turned, Piccolo and Kuririn walked across the cool marble tiles from the kitchen. Piccolo was scowling fiercely at the door.  
  
"That means that you agree with Vejiita," Kuririn muttered to the green man while they walked toward the other warriors. "You never agree with Vejiita."  
  
The Namek snorted. "There's a first time for everything, I suppose," he said, nodding to Gokuu, Gohan and Vejiita as they reached the small group. "I'm just as surprised as you are."  
  
"Well?" the prince demanded, glaring at Piccolo.  
  
"Don't rush me," Piccolo rumbled with a frown. "I was watching him from the other room. There is something about that man I don't like. It's obvious that he has other things on his mind other than just greeting us and giving us shelter here. He bears watching."  
  
"Gee, I dunno, guys, he seemed fine to me," Gokuu said, rubbing the back of his neck as his forehead puckered. "Nervous, I guess - but hey - who wouldn't be with Vejiita staring at them?" He grinned lopsidedly at his own joke. Vejiita rolled his eyes and shook his head in despair.   
  
"You're much too trusting, Gokuu," Kuririn said, looking past Gokuu toward the holograph platform. "People are out for all sorts of things. You can't trust everyone all the time - you just have to get tough, that's all."  
  
Gokuu shrugged good-naturedly. "Whatever you say, Kuririn. You're probably right."  
  
Following Kuririn's gaze to the back of the room, Vejiita grunted and said, "Heh. So that machine actually works. I'm surprised."  
  
"What? Bulma's machine? But that's not Bulma's invention, Vejiita," Gohan said, looking at the older Saiyan. "That's just the holograph platform. Bulma's stuff is over there, in that bag. She hasn't connected it yet."  
  
"I don't need-" Vejiita started to snarl at Gohan, but was interrupted by Bulma's call.  
  
"Gohan! Get over here - Videl's waiting for you, and we can't keep this connection open forever!"  
  
"Oh!"  
  
Relief flew across his face as Gohan literally leaped over to the console to see Videl's image waiting shyly for him. Gokuu grinned at his son's eagerness as he watched him bound across the room and skid to an abrupt halt in front of the platform, grabbing Trunks' shoulder and nearly falling into the transmitting beam.  
  
As she watched Gohan push Trunks out of the way and slide into the beam to speak with Videl, Bulma chuckled. Turning to her father, she said offhandedly, "I think we're going to need a larger range when we're using the holograph, so that everyone can see everyone else in the beam. Plus, we're going to need several more odds and ends to readjust our own machinery. I also think we'll have to get a few more pieces of equipment from the Argarians." Thrusting her chin in Vejiita's direction, she raised her voice a bit and said, "That should be no problem. There are plenty of people here who can take me, aren't there?"  
  
"Take you where, woman?" Vejiita scowled, still annoyed because she had interrupted his 'conversation' with Gohan.   
  
"We need more parts for the machines," she responded, a mocking smile touching her lips. "And that means that you'll have to take me -"   
  
Kuririn stopped in his tracks where he heard what Bulma had said, a horrified look in his eyes. Almost immediately, a collective groan came from the rest of the warriors as they realized what they were going to have to do. Anything was preferable to that - in fact, in their minds, fighting Buu was preferable to -  
  
"-shopping!" Bulma finished, cackling at the senshi.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The warehouse district boasted the oldest buildings in the city: in fact, the oldest buildings on the planet were there. Settlers from other worlds in the Argarian system landed on Argus VI centuries ago and found no indigenous sentient life - the desert and ocean fauna and flora were untouched - so decided to build their own colonies there. The Port cities had been the first establishments on the planet. While Port Cities 1, 2, and 3 eventually fell into disrepair and disappeared, Port City 4 flourished - due, in no small part, to its location next to the Alerian Sink.  
  
As they wandered through the twisted alleyways of the warehouse district, Theo and Allyssa heard about one of those historic structures. It used its age as its guarantee that it served the 'best ghee west of the Alerian Sink.'  
  
"That sounds like a challenge to me," said Allyssa with a twinkle in her eye. "Let's go find this place."  
  
They took about ten minutes to find that particular bar. Theo's method was to pop her head into a building, take in a lungful of air and have a quick look around, then pop back outside again.  
  
"What are you doing?" Allyssa asked the third time Theo came out of a bar empty-handed.  
  
"I refuse to drink in a place that doesn't smell right," she said, sniffing at the Gant's obvious utter lack of sensibilities.   
  
Allyssa snorted, twisting her face into a grimace. "Who are you kidding, Princess? You're the one who sucks ghee straight from the bottle - what does it matter what the place smells like?"  
  
Theo became frosty. "It matters," she said between clenched teeth, tossing her dark hair back from her face. "If I'm going to drink, I'm damn well going to be comfortable. I'm not drinking in a place that smells like ... that smells bad. Besides," she added sullenly, "I'm looking for something else, too."  
  
Allyssa shrugged. Two more bars later, Theo had found one that was satisfactory - not only did it pass her "smell test," it was the bar that advertised it served the 'best ghee west of the Alerian Sink.'   
  
"See? I told you so," Theo said smugly. "And it even has an old Earth style pool table. We can play pool - or whatever the local game is here."  
  
"What's this 'we' business?" Allyssa said, arching one eyebrow at her. "Do we want to make money, or not?"  
  
"Oh ... right," Theo said, grinning up at her. "You play - I'll lure the customers and test the quality of the ghee."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Theo and Allyssa had been inside the bar for several standard hours, playing pool, drinking ghee and chatting with the bartender. Allyssa leaned casually against the pool table and scanned the bar, looking for her next mark.  
  
"We could use a little more of that 'coercion' talent of yours to get these guys to play," murmured Allyssa to Theo quietly as she chalked her cue.   
  
"Your wish is my command," Theo said. She scanned the bar for new faces, then briefly closed her eyes.  
  
Almost as if called, a large military type person seated at the opposite end of the bar stood up, walked over to the table and gestured at Allyssa, challenging her. She nodded slightly toward Theo, who grinned drunkenly up at the soldier and held out her hand. Grunting, he dug into his back pocket, pulled out a wad of bills and slapped them on her palm.  
  
Can he play pool at all? Allyssa thought. She could not send her thoughts, but if Theo brushed her mind, Theo could read what was there and respond. She and Theo had been communicating with each other that evening using that method.  
  
Didn't check ... just thought you wanted a warm body, Theo replied. Allyssa could tell that Theo had been drinking pretty heavily; her thoughts were heavy and thick, and she had absolutely no finesse when she accessed Allyssa's mind. It felt more like clumsy mental fingers poking inside her head. Not unpleasant, just ... fumbling.  
  
The Gant gave the soldier an easy smile. He grunted again and reached for a pool cue hanging on the wall; as he stretched over the table, Allyssa swiftly took his measure. Not too tall, not too old, and rather humanoid - meaning that he probably wasn't as intellectually dull as the group of Cronch standing next to the bar. Just your average human male out to prove his prowess.  
  
Of course, Theo did give him a push to get him here - but he wouldn't do anything he didn't want to, she reasoned. The Cronch drinking at the bar had responded reasonably well to Theo's prodding, too; they were just sullen and bad-tempered now because each of them lost to Allyssa.  
  
Stupid things, she thought maliciously. They're lucky they remember to breathe most of the time.  
  
"Heh - so are you going to do anything, or are you just going to stand there and look pretty?" Theo jeered at the solider. She was sitting at a small table with a large amount of half eaten wings and a huge glass of ghee, leaning on the table with her chin in her hand, her eyes half closed.  
  
They flipped a coin; Allyssa won the toss and leaned across the table to make the first strike. Crack! went the cueball against the racked balls. As perfectly as if she had asked, the one, three, five and seven all rolled to their own separate pockets and gently fell in.   
  
The soldier stood there, his mouth agape, not believing his eyes.   
  
Allyssa straightened up and studied the table. "Nine - left corner pocket. Eleven - side pocket. Thirteen - right corner pocket," she said, businesslike, pointing out the striped balls and their respective corners.  
  
The soldier snorted. "Double or nothing says that won't happen. You were just lucky before."  
  
"Really?" murmured Allyssa, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. You haven't seen luck yet, buddy. "Let's find out."  
  
Normally she would have tried to push him into playing several games, but the soldier's attitude annoyed Allyssa. She gave him another beautiful smile, smoothly aimed the cue and lightly smacked the cueball. The white ball danced among the solids and the stripes, banking several times, and by the time it came to rest the balls that Allyssa had pointed out were sitting safely in their respective pockets.   
  
"I just love watching her play pool," declared Theo, smiling nastily at Allyssa's competitor. "Don't you?"   
  
The soldier just glowered at both of them and growled "I quit" to no one in particular, forcefully tossing his cue on the table. He dug deeply into his pocket, pulled out another fistful of bills and threw them, uncounted, at Theo's face before stalking away.   
  
Theo laughed and picked up the fluttering currency, thumbing through it with an obviously satisfied expression. A faint chorus of "I told you so," along with masculine laughter, came from the direction of the bar. Allyssa sauntered away from the table, put the pool cue away and joined Theo.   
  
"So how much is there?" asked Allyssa. She was in an exuberant mood  
  
"Enough that we won't have to beg for food on the street for quite a few days," Theo responded, chortling. She gave the half the stack to Allyssa, who quietly put it in her inside vest pocket, before stowing the balance in her hip pocket and slumping back in her chair, satisfied. "I want some more ghee. Let's get the bartender over here."  
  
"Why don't you finish what you have in front of you first?" suggested Allyssa, eyeing the glass on the table.  
  
"Oh....sure, why not?" Theo smirked, drained her glass in one gulp, and slammed it down on the table. "Feel better? I certainly do," and she chortled at her own joke. "Now I'm going to get some more ghee."  
  
"Theo ... I think you've had enough for a while," Allyssa warned, watching Theo slide out of her chair and stumble to her feet.   
  
"Oh ... I'm fine, Ally. Really, I am. Besides, it looks like someone else wants to play you." As she stood next to their table, clutching the edge with her left hand just to keep her balance, she waved vaguely as another spacer walked over to Allyssa. "I'll see you in a minute."  
  
"Fine. Don't get lost. The bar's over there," Allyssa said, thinking she'll be fine - if she falls on her face, at least I'll know where she is. Turning to look at her new challenger, she said, "Want a game?"  
  
"Only if you're good," he drawled, stopping next to the pool table. "And if you've got cash."  
  
She took in his appearance quickly - a soiled jumpsuit, eyes gray and flinty, hair the same color, large gunbelt - definitely a spacer, possibly on his own. "Don't worry, bud," Allyssa retorted, grabbing her cue from the wall and chalking it. "I only play for money - and if you bore me, I'll end it real quick. You won't feel a thing, except your money leaving your pocket."  
  
The man stared at her and slowly nodded, then racked the balls. Allyssa noticed his hands were steady and strong, lined and creased, but scrupulously clean.   
  
Heh - maybe this one can actually play, she thought, narrowly watching him. That'd be exciting. She pushed her thoughts about being responsible and looking after Theo to the back of her head as she concentrated on the man in front of her, watching him flick the chalk around the jointed cue magically produced from his jumpsuit, feeling his eyes on her.  
  
Allyssa smiled and offered the coin for the toss.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Theo stumbled to the bar, grinning stupidly. She was feeling absolutely no pain; the voices in her head weren't there, she felt as happy and giggly as she had when she was a young girl, she had money in her pocket, and her best friend in the world was having fun toasting people at pool.   
  
At least she thought she was her best friend in the world. Looking at the other woman out of the corner of her eye, Theo had the nagging feeling that there had been someone else - someone else at another time that used to go drinking with her.   
  
Who - who was it? she wondered, stopping to catch her balance as she ran the thought through her mind thick and slow with liquor. Long red hair - and laughing, always laughing - but ... and her mind burped and jiggled, pushing her into another batch of memories, ...but there was screaming ... and she was burned, horribly burned ... Beryan ...  
  
Abruptly her mind shut off those memories, pushing them as far down in her consciousness as they would go, keeping the pain at bay.  
  
"Kami, I need a drink," she groaned as she shuffled up to the bar, pushing herself through the crowd and waving to get the eye of the bartender. She pulled herself up on a high stool with graceless ease and gripped the edge of the bar to keep herself from falling on her face.  
  
"Another ghee?" the bartender asked, popping up in front of her. He was a large man with a broad face, long, black hair and dark eyes; kind, Theo thought. But then, everyone looks wonderful to you when you're like this, she thought wryly. Especially when they're giving you drinks.  
  
A glass as tall as her forearm and nearly twice as thick slid neatly into her hand. As she reached into her pocket to pay for the drink, the bartender waved his hand at her.   
  
"Keep your money," he rumbled, jerking his head toward the knot of Cronch hovering at the end of the bar. "They bought it for you."  
  
"Really?" Theo beamed at them, and the closest raised his glass and nodded at her, his teeth gleaming in the barlight. "That was awfully nice."  
  
The bartender regarded her somberly; shaking his head slightly, he put his hands on the bar and leaned toward her. "Listen, girlie," he muttered, looking straight at her, "I'd watch my step if I were you. Cronch don't do favors for anyone, especially those Cronch. Take your drink and go back to your friend over there."  
  
Theo snorted; 'girlie,' indeed! "I can take care of myself," she said, an arrogant note creeping into her voice. "You don't have to worry about me. In fact, I think I'll go over and thank them myself." I have such good ideas sometimes, she thought, congratulating herself for being clever enough to think of that.  
  
"Suit yourself," the bartender said, watching her slither from the high stool to the floor. "But I warned you. They eat little girls like you for snacks."  
  
"I am NOT little!" Theo snarled, glaring at him as she snatched her ghee from the bar. "I'm probably older than you and your grandmother put together, and I've been practically everywhere in this galaxy. Now piss off!"  
  
Keep your stupid opinions to yourself, she thought angrily as she tossed her head and stalked over to the Cronch at the end of the bar. I can take care of myself ... I've been doing it for long enough, for Kami's sake.  
  
As she drew near the aliens, a wave of contempt washed over her. Besides, these Cronch are morons. They can barely button their own shirts, let alone trap someone like me. I could *think* them to death, if I had to. Heh.  
  
Armed with nothing but pride and chutzpah, Theo walked to the largest Cronch in the group, put her hand on his huge arm and asked, "Whom do I need to thank for this lovely drink? You?" She turned a brilliant smile on him, pushing every watt of charm into it she could muster. Her body melted against his suggestively as she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. Unconscious coercive power surrounded her, causing all the Cronch to stop their conversations and look at her.  
  
The larger Cronch stared at her, his crest flexing on top of his head as his eyes narrowed in appreciation. "Ah. Well, if it wasn't me, it is now - and believe me, you are entirely welcome." Gesturing toward the small tables near the bar, he said, "Would you care to have a seat? We both have our ghee to finish, and it's quite comfortable over there ..."  
  
"Why, I'd love to," Theo replied, a large, flirtatious smile on her face. See, she thought smugly, I can take care of myself - I don't need anyone else, as she walked toward the back of the bar with the alien.  
  
The Cronch turned her toward the tables next to the rear exit, beckoning his men to flank and follow them, his eyes reflecting an angry, hard gleam in the murky light.  
  



	8. Where's Theo?

Time Warriors, Chapter 8  
  
Dawn's nimble fingers were lightly caressing the horizon as Allyssa scuffled down dark streets, keeping to the shadows, following the outline in front of her as it made its way toward the desert.  
  
As she mechanically examined the alleys for telltale signs of Cronch, Allyssa cursed her own inattentiveness and Theo's drunken idiocy. She had been prepared for almost anything - Theo getting smashed and becoming completely obnoxious, angry chumps trying to attack her, even wholesale assaults by other people in the bar - but had been totally unprepared for what actually happened.   
  
While she was playing pool, carefully stringing her prey along so he came back for more, Theo walked off - actually left the bar - with a Cronch.   
  
Allyssa had played five games of pool with the spacer before she finally realized that Theo wasn't back at her table. The last game they played had been 'double or nothing;' he had scowled at the end, at last realizing what had happened when he saw Allyssa sink three balls simultaneously, two of them in side pockets.  
  
"Another game?" she had asked archly, smirking at him.  
  
"I don't think so," he replied. "You've already won all my wages for the next couple of weeks."  
  
"Ah, that's too bad," she grinned. "Better pay up, then."  
  
As he hunted through his pockets for money, Allyssa looked over at Theo's table to catch her eye - but there was no Theo. Frowning, she craned her neck to look over at the bar - no Theo. Leaning across the table with Theo's half-eaten wings, Allyssa squinted into the dark corner by the rear entrance - and Theo wasn't there.   
  
"Where the hell is she?" the Gant muttered to herself, now more than a little perturbed  
  
"Here," said a voice at her elbow, "this is everything I have on me." The spacer stood next to her and was pushing a wad of bills into her left hand. "I still owe you about 50 credits, though. I'll have to go back to my ship and get the rest."  
  
Allyssa looked at the bills stuffed into her hand, looked over at the bar, and frowned. "No."  
  
The man had turned away from her and was disassembling his cue. He stiffened, turning back to her with a perplexed expression. "What?"  
  
Slowly the woman shook her head, the dim light in the room casting eerie shadows across her angled face. "I said no. I'm not waiting for you to get back from your ship - how do I know if you're going to come back? - and I'm sure as hell not going there with you." She was silent a moment, and then said, " I want something else."  
  
The man looked at her oddly. "Exactly what did you have in mind?" he asked, his gray eyes flinty in the gloom.  
  
"Heh - just come with me." Allyssa walked over to the bar; the spacer shrugged, stowed his cue and followed her. The man stood behind her and crossed his arms across his jumpsuit, looking grim as she sidled up to the rail, waving for the bartender's attention.  
  
"Hey!" she said, nodding as the large man acknowledged her. "You remember my friend? The little dark haired one? Where is she - where'd she go?"  
  
The bartender squinted, grabbed several bottles from underneath the bar and slid them over to customers at the opposite end as he considered his answer. "She left a while ago," he responded, nodding toward the door.  
  
"Damn!" Allyssa groaned. Looking first at her left hand and then at the man behind the bar, she peeled off several bills from the bundle in her left hand and pushed them across the wooden surface. As she did, she asked, "Did you notice her when she left? Did she leave with anyone?"  
  
"Sure," the bartender replied as the money disappeared in one large fist. "She left with those Cronch." Seeing the expression on Allyssa's face, he continued, "I warned her about them, I did. But she told me that she could take care of herself. Told me to piss off - that she was older than me and my grandmother put together." He grimaced as he remembered, wiping the bar down with a large rag. "Lots of fire, that one. The big Cronch liked her. He took her back with him."  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like Theo," Allyssa muttered, clearly annoyed. "Back? Back where? Where did he take her?"  
  
The bartender looked down at her hand, and with a scowl she realized what he wanted. Another few bills slithered toward him.  
  
In one fluid motion the money disappeared and he gestured in the general direction taken by the Cronch. "Out in the desert somewhere," he said, waving vaguely. "Somewhere toward the Alerian Sink. End of this road and to the left. That's where they usually land, anyway -- that's where they do their ... business."  
  
"Thanks," Allyssa said, nodding. She turned away from the bar and stared at the man standing behind her, her eyebrows drawn together. She jerked her head toward the exit; he nodded once and followed her without a word.   
  
Once outside, Allyssa said in a low voice, "You want to work off your debt? Find my friend for me. She's small, dark haired, has a big mouth, and apparently is being dragged around by some Cronch right now. "  
  
"I don't owe you enough to rescue her," he warned, his steely gaze meeting hers.  
  
She stared back, unimpressed. "Agreed. But you do owe me enough that you'll find her and then tell me where to find her. And you won't find her dead - I know her too well."  
  
He thought a moment. "All right," he finally said, and offered his hand to her.   
  
Quaint, she thought, amused. As she accepted it, she also noticed how clean he smelled, how strong his hands were - that's enough, she reprimanded herself sternly. Concentrate on finding Theo now. Later you'll have time to play.  
  
She watched him make his way out of the bar and decided to give him a ten minute head start.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The Argarians appeared to be extremely generous people - generous, in fact, to a fault. Bulma had seen some of their laboratories, and from the looks of their equipment, she knew that the pieces she wanted were fairly rare. She would have been truly surprised if she had been able to find everything on her list, let alone have them give it to her.  
  
"Aw, come on, Bulma, you don't need any more of those things, do you?"  
  
She swung her head around with a scowl firmly planted on her face as she glared at Kuririn. Sweat stood out on his forehead in tiny droplets and his clothes were streaked in places with grime; he appeared to be as frazzled as the hair on her head. Gohan was standing next to him, his weariness showing in the droop of his shoulders and the weakness of his smile. Gokuu, Vejiita and Piccolo were grunting and arguing with each other several meters behind them, a large pile of metal machinery shining on the ground between them.  
  
"I need as many of them as I say I need, and I said that I needed all of them!"  
  
Kuririn had no idea that time travel equipment could be so heavy. He and Gohan had been drafted into Bulma's mini shopping expedition, and now they were hauling things from every part of the city, almost as if they were birds trying to build a nest. He had no idea what he was collecting nor did he understand what the pieces were going to be used for - he simply provided the hard, backbreaking labor to get the material from here to there.   
  
"Gokuu! Of course we need to take all of this back - Bulma can't put these things in a hovercar," Piccolo said, his voice coming from the back of the area, exasperation in his tone. " It's much too dangerous. You know what kind of driver she is; one sharp turn and they'd all end up in someone else's living room. Much better if we take it -"  
  
"Bul-ma!" whined Gokuu from his position behind Kuririn, "Do we really hafta bring all this stuff back to our place? Look at this stuff! Where're we gonna put it?" His face was as dirty as Kuririn's shirt, marked with grime in several places; it looked as though he had held some of the pieces in his hands, then rubbed his hands against his cheeks and forehead.  
  
Bulma's scowl deepened. "Yes, I need them all! I need everything that's on this list!" She waved a piece of paper at Gokuu. "That's why we're out here - to get the things I need for the - for the machine." She had been on the verge of saying, "timegate," but had fortunately caught herself.   
  
The last thing we need is some Argarian telling his neighbors about timegates that haven't been built, she thought sourly as she glanced suspiciously at the surrounding area. They appeared to be in a deserted section of the building, but she could never be sure.  
  
Bulma was extremely aware of the interest their strange little band generated as they flew from building to building in downtown Port City 4. Once she had made her wishes known to that nice Lieutenant Grant, there had been no question as to whether or not she could receive the equipment - from that moment on, it was simply a question of when it would happen. At first, searching for the parts had been a novelty - almost like a treasure hunt - because the Argarians had given her the general location of the parts and equipment she needed but had been very vague as to specific location details. Now all she wanted was to get out of there and go 'home,' wherever 'home' happened to be.  
  
"What else is there for us to find?" Vejiita strode over to Bulma and tore the paper out of her hand. Her angry cry and lunge for the paper were easily turned away, as he held her at arm's length, reading her notes.  
  
"Give that back to me! What do you think you're doing?" Bulma roared, pushing against her mate as fiercely as she could. "You have no idea what I'm looking for or what we've already found, so give it back. Right now!"  
  
"I don't think so," he said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Seems to me that everything on this list has been checked off, meaning that we've found everything." He looked at her meaningfully and shifted his weight, so his body was directly facing hers. "That means that we don't need to be here anymore. What do you say to that, Kakarotto?"  
  
"We don't?" Gokuu said hopefully. "Can we go home?"  
  
"No, baka, we're not going home - we're going to take this woman back to her father and my whelp, and then we're going out again - after you've cleaned yourself up." Vejiita slipped a protesting Bulma into his arms and levitated above the sidewalk in front of the building. "Just pick up those pieces and follow me."  
  
"Dammit, Vejiita, you can't do this!" Bulma shrieked in his ear, beating her fists on his shoulders, trying to get his attention. "I'm not finished!"  
  
Vejiita smirked. "Heh - you are now." Without another word, he lifted into the air and flew back to their Argarian apartment.  
  
"Wow," Kuririn said as he watched the pair skim over the top of the downtown buildings. "I'd never be able to do that to Juuhachi."  
  
"Chi-chi doesn't like flying much," Gokuu said, bending to scoop some machinery into his arms, "so I wouldn't be able to carry her around like that, either."   
  
Kuririn and Gohan looked at each other, then looked at Gokuu. "That's not exactly what I meant," Kuririn said slowly.  
  
Perplexed, Gokuu frowned slightly at the shorter man. "Really - it wasn't? Then what did you mean?"  
  
"Never mind, Gokuu," sighed Kurinin, shaking his head at the Saiyan. "If you don't know, you really don't need to know."  
  
Cheerful again, Gokuu exclaimed, "Ah, good!" He leaped into the sky, carrying the parts he had picked up in his arms. "Let's get back to the apartment and help Bulma put this together!"  
  
Nodding, the other men bent to their task, picking up the enormous pile of machinery in front of them. As they worked, Piccolo stared at the eastern part of the city with his arms folded, a strange expression on his face.  
  
Something's happening, he thought, straining his senses, and it's happening now ...  
  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Ugh ... there's cotton in my mouth....  
  
Moving from unconsciousness to consciousness was always a chore for Theo - she was not a 'morning person' by any stretch of the imagination. It made no difference how long she slept, either; she always managed to wake up bad tempered and cranky, ready to pounce on the first unsuspecting person in her field of vision.   
  
...eh... this cotton has gritty stuff in it ... how disgusting ...  
  
Without opening her eyes or moving a muscle, she automatically took stock of her body's systems. Starting with her toes, she wiggled and flexed muscles in her feet, her calves, her knees and her thighs. Moving higher, she continued her invisible flexing through her buttocks and torso, rippling through muscles in her arms and finally ending with those in her neck, head and face. What she found wasn't as surprising as it was embarrassing.  
  
Damn, she groaned to herself.   
  
The pain in her head was throbbing and unrelenting; she felt as though the blood in her brain was trying to punch its way out her veins, beating on the inside of her skull. Slitting one eye so she could peer through her lashes, she saw a fuzzy expanse of gray, punctuated intermittently with large, dark, lumpish shapes. A shallow breath through her nose confirmed her suspicions.  
  
Sand ... I'm laying on sand ... and it's in my nose and my mouth ...  
  
Her first reflex was to spit it out and shake her head, but she suppressed that urge to continue evaluating her predicament.  
  
Which isn't very good, she realized miserably. As she took stock of her body, she discovered several things: one, it was still night; two, she was freezing; and three, her hands were tied behind her back.   
  
Looking down at herself, she was relieved to find that most of her clothing was intact. Her pants and tunic were thin and offered little protection against the cold, but the fact that she was still wearing them meant that whoever did this to her probably didn't molest her.  
  
But they sure didn't do me any favors, either, she thought. All my other stuff is gone, including my boots.   
  
Struggling against the pain in her head, Theo shifted her weight so that she was lying on her side and slowly drew her knees up to her chest. Panting slightly, she opened her eyes and focused on the objects in front of her. They looked like large rocks tossed randomly in one small area ... until several of them moved.  
  
They're not rocks, Theo thought, aghast, they're people. What is this place? How did I get here?  
  
Guttural sounds of heavy laughter rolled over her, and she strained to catch the words. As she squinted down past her feet, part of her situation immediately became crystal clear. Groaning at her own stupidity, Theo could make out a fence - hastily made, but a fence nonetheless - and several armed Cronch walking toward it, each dragging some poor unfortunate through the sand. It was clear that their captives were not accompanying the mercenaries by choice, as one was digging his heels into the earth and pulling in the opposite way while the other was completely passive, allowing himself to be hauled by his arm, his legs trailing behind.   
  
Cronch ... I can't believe it ... I let Cronch do this to me.  
  
Small pieces of memory floated back at Theo, causing her to wince in embarrassment. Several huge Cronch surrounding her at the table, all encouraging her to drink a little more, just a little more ... which she did, giggling and insulting them all ... and then the one they called Sterbol, that gigantic one with the bristly crest that ran from his forehead to the nape of his neck, laughed and swung her out of her chair and up in the air across his shoulder as the Cronch left the bar. She almost threw up as she hung there, her head moving from side to side as the cool night air slapped her cheeks. Theo vaguely thought she should do something - it wasn't right for her to be hanging upside down, across the shoulders of a total stranger, after all - but couldn't figure out what that something was. Her brain felt thick and ponderous, worthless for trying to think. As uncomfortable as she was with his shoulder thrusting through her stomach, she had nearly slipped out of consciousness, his even cadence providing a lulling rhythm, her head lolling gently against his back.  
  
Eventually she had been thrown to the ground, which brought her close to full consciousness. She remembered the Cronch's face as he peered at her, dark eyes snapping in the darkness as he loomed over her.   
  
"I'm leaving you here, little one, but I'll be back for you. And so will your pool playing friend, I'll wager." Sterbol's large hand had appeared out of the shadows, his fingers sliding across her jaw and anchoring at the base of her skull, his thumb tracing the line of her chin then moving up and brushing her lips. "We'll keep you safe until she shows up. Then we'll have some fun, won't we?"  
  
Abruptly he released her head and neck, flipped her on her belly and tied her hands behind her back. Even that was done with a purpose; not so tight as to cut off her circulation, but tight enough so that she was forced to remember who did that to her. He left her immediately afterward with her face pushed forward in the sand, chuckling to himself as he walked away.  
  
Her last coherent thought rang in her mind for several minutes before she passed out.  
  
Rotten bastard, she thought, infuriated.  
  
Now clenching her teeth together to keep them from chattering, Theo rolled from her side to her knees, ignoring the swelling pain in her head. She spit sand out from her mouth and rested, panting with exertion as she kneeled in the sand, her eyes fastened on the people outside the fence.   
  
The Cronch were coming right toward her; despite the agony pulsing behind her temples, she wanted to see how they opened and closed the gate in the fence. Her dark hair screened her face effectively as she watched them unfasten the gate and toss their prisoners into the pen with little difficulty.   
  
There's no physical or mental lock, she realized. Good - they're not expecting anyone to cause trouble.  
  
As she looked around the stockade, Theo could see why the Cronch believed there would be no problem. Most of those in the pen were twice as small as the renegade warriors, and many of them were female. Numerous races and species were represented , though; it almost seemed as if the Cronch had gone through the warehouse district, rounded up a random sampling of the population and tossed them in the compound. Young male warriors from any species, however, were the most obvious omissions in the prisoner cache.  
  
A touch of gray lit the horizon. It would be dawn soon, Theo realized, and then ... it would get hot. Incredibly hot. What would they do with their captives during the day?  
  
"When's that transport coming, Rabc?" the Cronch with the bright red crest asked as he threw his prisoner into the pen. The prisoner slid on his face until the sand finally ground his forward momentum to a halt. It was a man - he appeared wiry, his hair was gray and he was wearing a gray jumpsuit with an empty gun holster.  
  
Theo blinked. I've seen him before, she thought.  
  
"Should be any time now," Rabc answered, looking at the sky. "We were told they wanted at least thirty-five of them, and there seems to be that many here. Someone should have called them by this time."  
  
The wiry man picked his face up from the sand and spit; as he shook his head, fine granules flew in all directions. He saw Theo staring at him through her curtain of hair and snorted.   
  
"So there you are. Damn brainless woman," he snapped under his breath. "If you can't hold your liquor, you shouldn't drink."  
  
Theo stared at him in shock, not moving. Is he talking to me? "What - what - what do you mean?" she whispered, her voice thick. The blood was pounding in her head so loudly she thought he could hear it.  
  
The man knelt on the desert floor, pretending to be dazed for the benefit of the watching Cronch. His hands were tied behind his back as well. "I mean," he said through clenched teeth, "that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here. Your partner can certainly be persuasive when she wants."  
  
"My partner?" Theo repeated, her bleary eyes fastened on the person in front of her. "What do you know about my partner?"  
  
"Not as much as I'd like," he retorted, shifting his weight from one knee to the other. "For example, I have no idea why she'd be paired up with someone like you. I agreed to track you down - and look," he finished bitterly, wiping his mouth, "I've found you. So has every Cronch in the area. And now, because of you, they've found me."  
  
"I didn't ask you to come find me," Theo rejoined with a touch of asperity, trying not slur her words. "It's not my fault you got caught."  
  
"Nothing ever is your fault, is it?" he retorted, staring back at her. "I know your type. A waste of air."  
  
"Really?" Theo was incensed, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She had talked to this man all of three minutes and already intensely disliked him. "And what, exactly, is my type?"  
  
The man's lips thinned to a straight line as his eyes reduced to pinpricks of gray steel. "You're spoiled, self-centered and self-indulgent - stupidly so, because you placed yourself and your partner in danger. You got drunk and got yourself captured by some of the biggest, brainless things in this sector of the galaxy, and now your partner had to go and kick their collective ass just for you. Totally useless."  
  
"How dare you!"  
  
"You asked," he pointed out, shrugging, unaffected by her anger.   
  
"Heh, look - this one's awake!" Large boots tramped over to Theo; suddenly she found her feet dangling in midair, a huge, meaty hand clamped tightly around her neck, pressing her jaw toward the sky and cutting off her oxygen.  
  
Her eyes rolled back as she gasped hoarsely, "...can't ... breathe ... let ... go ..." Her arms strained against the ropes restraining her hands to no avail as her body twisted helplessly in the air.  
  
The Cronch named Rabc examined her critically, moving her body so that her feet flailed against his thighs. "Yeah, she's not bad, but she's pretty scrawny. Here - look," he said, yanking the front of her tunic so hard that it split open to the waist.   
  
Theo's struggles became louder and more frenzied as cool air hit her chest  
  
"Shut up and stop squirming," Rabc told her, shaking her and giving her neck a hard warning squeeze. "We wanna see what Sterbol won't share." Peering closer, he smirked and said, "Not bad for something so skinny." His free hand fondled her breasts as he leered at her. "Feels pretty good, too. No implants - not like those Galactic bitches at the port. "  
  
Blinding rage filled Theo's mind as the Cronch manhandled her, her anger pushing her headache pain to the back of her head. You're gonna fry, you ugly overgrown - She was incoherent as she reached for the wellspring, the source of her power, to send a psychic blast along his nerves that would render him senseless -  
  
-- but nothing happened.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  



	9. Ghee and Guardians Don't Mix

Time Warriors, Chapter 9  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Turning helplessly in Rabc's grip, Theo tried to stretch her neck to breathe. Her head was forced toward the sky at what seemed an impossible angle while long dark streaks lanced across her vision.   
  
What is wrong ...? Why can't I get in?   
  
Frantically, Theo groped deep inside herself for the wellspring of power. It was common to all beings, but only accessible to a certain few - those born with the ability to manipulate chi. For those of her kind, it was a place of calmness and clarity, a place where only truth ruled, where deception of any kind was impossible.  
  
She tried to access the fount with her mind, but the barriers surrounding it were as smooth as glass. Her mental grip grew slack as she slipped around and down its sides, feeling as if she was careening out of control. Theo skidded away, defeated, unable to access the spring. It appeared fuzzy, almost blurred, and had a slight blue tinge - like ghee, Theo finally realized in alarm.   
  
And it wouldn't open to her. At all.  
  
Damn, Theo thought in consternation, recognizing the signs. I have to wait until the ghee gets out of my system ... and by that time I'll probably be dead ...   
  
The dark streaks in front of her eyes were turning black and growing larger with each passing moment. She stopped struggling; her shoulders sagged and her feet stopped kicking to slowly swing with the rest of her body. She could not prevent the groping hands that fumbled their way across her upper torso, hands that pinched and tweaked and rubbed, hands that left sweaty, hot trails around and over her breasts. She could not stop them from violating her, pushing their way into her space and taking whatever pleasure they wanted from her.  
  
But she could hate them. And she did, with a fullness and completeness that would cause most men to blanch in fear.  
  
I will kill you for this, Cronch. Depend on it.  
  
A tiny crack popped open in the blue sphere of her power source; a white trickle of energy ran out, so small that it normally would escape her notice. Now, however, Theo seized the wisp as she slid into shallow unconsciousness again, grasping it tightly, not letting go. Instinct told her that when properly manipulated, this amount of energy was quite large enough to do exactly what she wanted.  
  
The Cronch warrior stood in the compound with Theo dangling from one large arm. With a foul smirk, he brought her closer and started to bend her body backwards, feeling the contours of her breasts with his free hand, then dipping that hand lower, across her belly. Without warning, an enormous clout on the side of his head caused Rabc to cry out in pain and drop Theo, now totally limp, to the ground. He was thrown completely off balance as he lurched in the sand, tripping over his own booted feet.   
  
"Explain what in the hell you were doing with that female, Rabc," a soft voice rumbled dangerously from the dark. "And you'd better hope that she's not dead."  
  
Rabc was a larger than average-sized Cronch; a little over two meters tall, heavily muscled, bald except for a large red crest that split his head in two, wearing regulation light armor. Others of his kind usually left him alone, as he had a reputation for being surly and violent. Yet the threat embedded in the other Cronch's voice was enough for him to realize that he had pushed Sterbol, his superior, very close to his breaking point.  
  
  
Rabc caught his balance and faced him, keeping his face carefully neutral. "I was making sure the female had no weapons, sir, " he replied stiffly. "We were surprised once or twice by several of these creatures that had crude pieces hidden on them."  
  
Gray and black shadows moved over his supervisor's body, causing his hulking mass to look even larger and more threatening than it actually was. "You were with me when I brought the female back here - you know why she's here. What, exactly, did you think I was doing with her before I left the compound?" he asked, advancing on the hapless Rabc, menace and danger in his every line.  
  
To his credit, Rabc stood his ground without flinching. "I-"  
  
Sterbol stepped over Theo's prone form and brought his face centimeters away from Rabc's, the muscles in his forearms quivering with the effort he expended not to grab and crush his subordinate's skull. "So that there's no confusion," he said, silky intimidation threaded through every word, his canines gleaming in the waxing daylight, "the next time you touch anything I own will be the last time you touch anything at all. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes, sir, I understand," Rabc muttered. The strain of standing anywhere near the large Cronch showed in the perspiration dripping down the side of Rabc's face.  
  
"Fine. Then leave," Sterbol said, clearly enunciating each word. Rabc blinked, then turned and strode out of the corral, lengthening his stride until he was almost trotting.   
  
Sterbol softly snorted. "It's people like you that give Cronch a bad name," he muttered, glaring after the mercenary's retreating back. He glanced down at the ground; Theo was lying at his feet, crumpled on her side in the sand. She was breathing, though - he poked her gently with his boot, and could see her sides slowly expand.   
  
"Keep breathing, girl," he smirked, looking at her. "Your partner won't pay me if you're not alive ... so when she sees you, make sure you're breathing." With a contemptuous sneer, he turned and walked to the opposite end of the corral, roughly kicking some of the other captured unfortunates out of his way.  
  
The spacer watched the entire incident, his gray eyes missing nothing, his mind turning over possible reasons the Cronch wanted Theo. He liked none of the conclusions he was drawing based on that single conversation.  
  
He huddled in the sand until he was positive that both Cronch were out of earshot, and then darted over to the unconscious woman. A small black object dropped out of the man's sleeve and onto the ground behind him; he fumbled for it with his bound hands, finally palmed it and flicked a tiny switch on the device.  
  
A razor thin red beam split the gloom, no more than three inches in length. The laser made short work of his bonds; immediately, he moved and cut Theo's ropes, freeing her hands for the first time in many hours. He pocketed the weapon, rolled her from her side to her back and started to chafe life into her cold hands and arms.   
  
As he rubbed her wrists he examined the rest of her body - and stopped in shock when his gaze rested on her face. Theo's eyes were fully open and had rolled back into her head, exposing only the whites. Her lips were drawn back in a fierce snarl and strange sounds rumbled in her throat. Abruptly she pulled her hands out of his grip as her body started twitching, moving spastically on its own.  
  
The man drew back and sat on his haunches as he watched her, ready to leap away if she attacked. Theo's body stopped moving as suddenly as it had started. He heard her draw a deep, shaky breath, then watched her push herself up from the sand and sit up, her dark hair hanging down, the sides of her tunic swinging next to her body. She looked down and clutched the edges together with one hand, then raised her head and looked directly at him. Her eyes had rolled back to their normal position, but ... they weren't brown anymore. Now they were swirling with color - clear blue and green, shot through with streaks of orange.  
  
They sat on the sand in the emerging daylight, staring at each other. Theo finally broke the silence.  
  
"I'm getting out of here," she rasped flatly, her eyes flashing cobalt. "Right now."  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Are you all right?"   
  
Theo stood up, rubbing her throat with one hand and grabbed the edges of her tunic with the other, staring with narrowed eyes at the figures of several Cronch in the distance. "Yes. I'm fine." Her head turned sharply around, her strange gaze leveled at him. "Why?"  
  
Those eyes ... piercing, he thought, looking back at her. Almost as if she can see what I'm thinking. What is she? "Because something's happened to your eyes," he said, straight to the point. "And you were really out of it over there. You were ... shaking."  
  
"Oh," she said, the challenge evaporating from her tone. "That." The hand that had been at her neck unconsciously moved to her cheek, her fingers touching the side of her eye. "I'm ... fine," she responded warily, her voice still hoarse. "Are they different colors?"  
  
He knew immediately what "they" were and nodded once, his gray hair becoming brighter with the dawn.  
  
"Damn," she said softly as she furrowed her brow, thinking. "Did you set me free?"  
  
He gave another laconic nod.  
  
"How?" she asked, suspicious.  
  
He stuck his hand in his side pocket and brought out the laser, keeping it on his open palm. Her eyes lit up as she recognized it and she grinned, nodding.  
  
"Stupid things missed it, did they? Good - that's just another thing that shows they don't believe we will give them trouble." White teeth glinted in the early morning light as her tone turned vicious. "But we will."  
  
Years of practice in strange situations on dozens of planets helped him mask his sudden alarm at the woman in front of him. She's not even the same person she was ten minutes ago, he thought, putting the laser back in his pocket. She's ... savage.  
  
Theo stared at him, a small frown wrinkling the skin between her eyebrows. "What's your name?" she asked, curious. When he remained silent, she scowled and said, "Oh, come on - you said my partner wanted to you find me, so I'm sure you know my name's Theo. So what's yours?"  
  
He looked at her a moment, as if measuring how much to tell her. In low, clipped tones, he replied, "Dron. My name's Dron,"   
  
"All right ... Dron," Theo murmured, considering, tasting his name on her tongue. "That fits. Short and to the point ... just like you." She smiled at him coldly. "You weren't very nice to me when we first met, Dron. I didn't like what you said."  
  
"Probably not," he agreed with a shrug. "But it was the truth."  
  
"The truth is vastly overrated," she replied, contempt dripping from her voice. "Take my advice and use it as little as possible."  
  
He stared at her a moment. Theo's disheveled appearance was totally at odds with the confident, deadly air that surrounded her. "Then you must be following your own advice," Dron observed caustically, "because you're certainly not what you appear to be." His common sense despaired of him, clamoring couldn't you just give her the last word....?  
  
Theo glared at the spacer for a long moment, the silence stretching thin. "Aren't you the clever one," she said with a scowl. "Maybe you'd prefer staying here to leaving...? After all, I'm not quite what you thought I was ..."  
  
Dron's face was expressionless, but the muscles around his eyes shifted just enough to let Theo know she'd struck a nerve.   
  
"No," he said, keeping his voice low, "I'm not going to be stuck here - but I don't see how we could overpower all the Cronch outside this corral, and that's what it would take. I counted twelve as that thing dragged me over here, and I'm sure there are at least as many on the other side. If that wasn't bad enough, the only weapon we have between us is this," and he patted the pocket where the laser was kept.  
  
"Ah. Yes. Well," Theo murmured, nodding her head with a mysterious smirk, "that's not exactly true, either ..."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Diplomats, the wealthy and members of the government took complete advantage of the resources Port City 4 offered travelers, VIPs and the occasional visiting dignitaries. The apartments in the heart of the city were luxurious places designed to put even the most skeptical user at ease.   
  
Every apartment used by the government was at least on the thirtieth floor of its building, had a large balcony and a magnificent view of the surrounding area. No expense was spared when furnishing those quarters, either; floors made of imported marble from Argus V, artwork collected from various parts of the galaxy, tapestries and damasks spun from the finest of gold and silver, intricate filigree work - every piece consciously chosen to enhance and strengthen the sense of beauty in each suite. The Argarians wanted their guests to feel calm, serene and secure in their apartments - especially secure.  
  
Dawn was breaking over the eastern section of the city. A direct view of the eastern horizon showed strange colors roiling there, as sunlight was reflected and absorbed by the gaseous clouds covering the Alerian Sink. Looking from east to the west, the rising sun left its tracks on the desert, moved into the city and cast brilliant light on some of the more dramatic buildings in the capital. Some of those buildings appeared to be illuminated from within as the sunlight seeped into its pores and made its surface glisten and gleam; other sections looked dull and drab by comparison.  
  
A small, irregularly shaped speck was in the western skies of the city, weaving around various plazas as it following an irregular path. It seemed to be searching for something as it flew from building to building, dipping next to a structure only to glide away to the next one.   
  
Acoustically, the city was a nightmare; sound bounced off smooth stone and glass like rubber racquetballs, careening out of control between the highrise buildings. The almost inaudible murmur of the few hovercars flying close to the ground was amplified by the distance it traveled. By the time the sound reached the government-issued apartments, it sounded like surf crashing on the beach; simply droning background noise that was always there, something residents needed to speak over when outside, but nothing out of the ordinary.   
  
Had anyone been on their balconies, they would have been astonished to hear shrill, piercing sounds flying over the background hum as that speck drew closer to the larger apartments.  
  
"...and don't think that I'm going to forget this, either, because I'm not! I don't know what you thought you were doing or why you were doing it, but you had no right to do that, do you hear me? no right at all! - and now you can't even find our condo, can you? Admit it - you're lost, aren't you?"  
  
"Shut up, woman," Vejiita said without rancor, absently looking at the buildings around them. "You're repeating yourself."  
  
"I knew it - you are lost!" Bulma said triumphantly, her arms tensing around his neck as he dipped close to yet another building. Vejiita cornered tightly and pulled out of a shallow dive toward a large balcony once he realized it wasn't the correct one. He shot off toward the next building, shifting Bulma in his arms slightly so that he supported most of her weight with his left arm.  
  
They had been flying for what seemed like hours but had been only minutes, dipping and sliding around different buildings in the city. Normally Bulma loved to fly with her mate; she felt independent and free, unshackled from the ground as they hurtled through the air, his arms wrapped around her like a protective shield. This time, however, her anger at his inconsiderate behavior - yanking her away from her work before she was ready to go, of all things - ruined whatever pleasure she took from their flight.   
  
"What is wrong with you? That's not our building," she yelled, taunting him. "Don't you remember? Ours is the big brown one!"  
  
Damned arrogant Saiyan, what is wrong with you? she thought, still furious as he banked and turned again, now shifting her weight to his opposite arm. The combination of his quick turns, the strange air currents, her irritation at him and his moving her about sent Bulma's stomach into a spin, panicking her. "Watch what you're doing!" she shrieked in his ear, pulling herself even closer to his chest.  
  
"You're choking me, woman!" he shouted, tugging his head back from her grip, annoyed. "How long have I been doing this? I'm not going to drop you!" Not that it hasn't occurred to me, he thought in grim amusement, looking at the squirming bundle with the fine blue hair in his arms. He had plucked her from the sidewalk in mid-sentence, his instinct tingling and telling him to get her back to the apartment immediately. Her mutinous, sapphire eyes glared up at him; she had no idea why he had swept her away, and he certainly wasn't going to tell her. He kept those feelings - in fact, most feelings - strictly to himself.   
  
But her eyes ... they were eyes that he had seen a thousand times, eyes that shone with happiness, or merriment, or the same exasperated expression she wore today .... Without warning, Vejiita felt part of himself softening toward her, remembering other times they had flown together and how much she had enjoyed it.   
  
How long has it been since we've been alone? he wondered, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown. Blinking, he realized that they had spent precious little time together since they started the journey to Argus. Unexpectedly, he found that he wanted to spend time with her now.   
  
She immediately sensed the change in him and grinned, her anger subsiding and her eyes sparkling with mischief as his customary scowl dropped into place. "You'd better not drop me - you'll never find our place if you do," she retorted with a smirk.  
  
He grunted at her in response. How can she sense some things so quickly, and not others? he wondered, dividing his attention between looking at her, searching for their apartment, and trying to squelch more unfamiliar feelings that were threatening to overwhelm him - just as they had when they landed on the planet.  
  
"It's up there," she said, indicating a balcony on the large ocher building in front of them, leaning her head on his chest as she pointed with her right hand.   
  
He flew up to the balcony, hovered over it as he twisted his body so that his legs were underneath him and landed on the marble floor, keeping Bulma in his arms.  
  
"Put me down, Vejiita - I have to unlock the door," she said, kicking her legs slightly.  
  
"You locked the door to the balcony?" he asked, incredulous.   
  
Slipping out of his grasp to land lightly on the floor, she dipped her hand into her jacket pocket and looked at him with a perplexed frown. "Of course I locked the door - we have an awful lot of expensive equipment in here. Plus, I don't want anyone just walking off with our invention." She turned the key in the lock until she heard a sharp *click*' and shoved the heavy sliding door to the left. "And you still had no right to take me away from that machinery until I was ready to go. Just because you thought it was time doesn't mean it was," she threw over her shoulder, marching into the apartment. Vejiita softly snorted and followed her from the balcony to the main room; he gave a cursory glance to each corner of the apartment, keeping Bulma in sight. He left the sliding door open, letting the cool outside air mingle with the heated apartment air.   
  
Several small sofas were arranged in front of the large balcony picture window with unobtrusive wooden tables separating them. Bulma threw her keys down on one of the tables as she walked toward the kitchen, shrugged out of her jacket and threw it over the back of the closest sofa, then tossed her hair out of her face, her sleeveless tank billowing slightly.   
  
She called, "I'm going to get some-"  
  
"Bulma," Vejiita murmured, catching her bare arm and turning her around, sliding his free arm around her waist and drawing her close.  
  
Surprise, amusement and desire shone in her eyes as she relaxed in his arms and said in an undertone, "Not here - Gokuu's following us, remember?"  
  
He dipped his head in response and kissed her, keeping his arm around her waist, caressing her cheek with his left hand. As she responded to his touch, he moved his left hand from her cheek to the back of her head, threading his fingers through her fine, silky hair, pulling her closer.   
  
"Vejiita," she muttered against his lips, pressing her body against his as her hands roamed across his shoulders to clasp behind his neck, "Gokuu ... my father ..."  
  
Pulling his head away from hers, his smoldering dark eyes devoured her pale face. "Bakas," he replied hoarsely, then swept his right arm under her knees and whisked her feet off the floor, dipping his head to claim her lips again. She sighed and surrendered, arching her back and pulling his head toward her own, kissing him ardently.  
  
They remained locked together in their embrace until a large crashing sound and the shaking floor abruptly brought them back to reality.   
  
"Ohayo, Vejiita - ohayo, Bulma! Look - we were able to bring everything you wanted in one trip. Isn't that great?"  
  
Vejiita raised his head to glower dangerously at Gokuu, ignoring Bulma's hissed pleas to put her down. The large, cheerful Saiyan was standing in the main room of the apartment with his hands on his hips, looking back at the balcony where his son and other friends were just landing, their arms loaded with mechanical equipment.   
  
A door at the opposite end of the apartment flew open, revealing Dr. Briefs in a rumpled bathrobe, pushing his glasses on his face. "Bulma! Are you all right? What was that horrible sound?" He fumbled for his cigarettes in his robe pocket, pulled one out and lit it, his hands shaking as he guided the match toward the nub, giving furtive glances around the apartment.  
  
Recognizing defeat, Vejiita gently put Bulma down, his scowl dark and threatening. She patted at her hair, pushing invisible strands back into place and pulled at her tank top, making herself presentable. She flashed a wicked grin at her mate as she went to her father, swaying her hips just enough to tease Vejiita as she walked away.  
  
"Don't worry, Dad - that's just Gokuu and the others, bringing back some of that extra equipment we needed," she said, a soothing hand on his shoulder, pulling the spent match from his fingers.   
  
"At this hour?" he asked, looking at her in bewilderment. "It's only just dawn!"  
  
"Yes, well - you know how they are," she said, flicking the match into a nearby plant. "Once they get an idea in their heads, you can't hold them back. They just had to go collect all that equipment."  
  
"That sounds more like you, daughter, than it does Gokuu," her father replied, moving his head to look at the equipment piled on the balcony. "Did you find all of it?"  
  
"More or less," Bulma responded. She looked over at the weary warriors, raised her voice and said, "You'll have to move all of that to the lab, you know. You should probably do it now."  
  
A chorus of groans was her only reply.   
  
"Oh, come on, Bulma, we just got back," complained Kuririn. The Earthman was as filthy as Gokuu, covered head to toe in dirt and grime from the machinery. "We're tired - we want to wash up and then rest."  
  
"Just move that stuff," she ordered imperiously, "and do it now. Get it off the balcony and into the lab before anyone else sees it. Then - I don't care - you can do whatever you want"  
  
Kuririn closed his eyes - why won't she ever listen to me? he thought, dejected - then turned to his task, his shoulders drooping.   
  
Gohan and Piccolo were behind him; once they heard Bulma's remarks, they looked at each other, shook their heads and bent to help him. Gohan, however, was chuckling to himself. He saw the entire exchange between Vejiita and his father, including Vejiita's reaction, and made a mental note to share that piece of information with Kuririn. He picked up an armload of machinery and followed his friend to the laboratory, grinning - the look on Vejiita's face had been priceless, even more so since the Saiyan prince hadn't realized anyone else had seen his expression.  
  
That'll cheer Kuririn up, he thought, laughing to himself. I wish I'd had a camera.  
  
Gokuu walked outside and scooped a huge armful of the time machine parts from the floor of the balcony. He turned and walked inside the suite, nearly running Vejiita over until he shifted his burden in his arms and saw the smaller Saiyan scowling in front of him.  
  
"Sorry, Vejiita," he said cheerfully. "Didn't see you there."  
  
Vejiita kept his arms at his sides, exerting a supreme effort of will not to smack Kakarotto's head through the wall of the building. Grinding his teeth, he walked out to the balcony and bent over to pick up the last fragments of the machinery, thinking that some activity would at least take his mind off of what he wanted to do but couldn't - when, all at once, he felt it. Vejiita snapped upright and his head turned toward the east, the muscles in his body tense, a predatory gleam in his black eyes. He stood as still as stone for several minutes, straining his senses, listening.  
  
~My instincts are never wrong.~  
  
The pulsing power was strong; not necessarily controlled, but strong.  
  
And this time, it was centered - and it was close.  
  
So close that he knew he could follow its traces to its source.  
  
Where ... ah, there .. there you are, he thought, grasping the rail of the balcony until his knuckles turned white, following the energy spoor with his mind. Now ... you're mine.  
  
Without a word to anyone, the Saiyan prince leaped off the balcony and flew off into the dawn, the challenge of the hunt singing in his blood.   
  
Piccolo had returned from the lab and watched Vejiita go, nodding his head. "I thought so," he murmured to himself. "We'll have to hurry."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Theo's head ached abominably. It was even worse than waking up with a mouthful of sand, if such a thing was possible. She faced Dron with an angry, arrogant smile, using a small trickle of power to project the confidence she didn't feel into his mind, hoping he would believe his manipulated feelings. An unreadable expression covered the fear and dread that crept into her bones.  
  
Something had happened inside her. Something had scraped and skinned and twisted the inside of her mind, so much so that she lost control and half her disguise had vanished, disintegrated in the maelstrom of raging, uncontrollable wellspring power.  
  
Her eyes had changed colors then, from brown to many-hued, and that was a bad sign. A very bad sign.  
  
Something's wrong with my grifton, she thought numbly. It's ... it's moving around. Trying to claw its way out of my brain.  
  
Griftons were rare. They were small, parasitic creatures that fed on the psychic emissions of highly telepathic races such as the Guardians. The tiny symbiotes only lived in certain types of environments, and they were usually found on small, fallow, out-of-the-way worlds. Years ago, a small Guardian scouting expedition detected the creatures and discovered their remarkable powers purely by accident. One of their party became 'infected' with the parasite; once she 'recovered' and had been examined, it was obvious what the benefits were to hosting the tiny creatures. Attempts to cultivate them on Homeland were met with extraordinary success; a breeding program had been put in place and was nearing the end of its first cycle when Vejiita Ou blew both their griftons and their world out from under their feet.   
  
I need to get out of here now, Theo thought, small fingers of panic settling in her gut as her eyes drifted across Dron's face and stared beyond the fence. If it moves again ... there's no telling what will happen ... and I'd be totally at the mercy of these beasts ...   
  
Gritting her teeth against the pain in her head, Theo motioned for Dron to follow her and silently walked toward the gate, taking the same path as Sterbol. Emerging daylight threw strange shadows across the desert; her bare feet padded in the sand, shuffling in the cool grains, making no sound. She stopped next to several dark mounds sprawled across her way, shaking her head. They were other captives, mostly females from the lower districts, who had been bound in the same manner as she had been. Theo motioned for Dron to cut them free - which he did, without comment - and then moved ahead. At last she reached a point where there were several medium sized rocks spread across the sand in a cluster, their ragged edges jutting toward the sky. They looked as thought they would provide adequate concealment for several people and were fairly close to the fence and the gate.   
  
"I'm going to work here," Theo whispered quietly to the spacer as she slumped against one of the rocks, folding her legs underneath her. "It's far enough away that they'll never know it's me, but close enough where I can see them."  
  
"Work? What are you talking about?" he snapped back, his voice low and harsh as he bent closer to her ear. "How am I supposed to cover you? I can't reach anyone from here with this thing. This is just a pocket laser, not a laser cannon or a blaster. And what exactly are you doing?"  
  
Theo's eyes shifted sideways to stare at him, then moved back to look at the Cronch standing beyond the fence. "Listen. The only thing you have to do is to make sure that the rest of these people are set free," Theo murmured, gesturing vaguely at the different figures slumped in the sand. Her attention was focused on a knot of Cronch standing near the gate, stamping the ground impatiently like racehorses, their arms folded across their chests, bored expressions on their faces.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Dron repeated, now irritable at Theo's obvious lack of comprehension. "How am I supposed to -"  
  
"I'm a little busy right now," Theo said, interrupting him with a curt shake of her head. "Would you please shut up?"   
  
"But what-"  
  
Theo's hand was held in the air as a warning; she stared at the Cronch, her eyes changing color from cobalt to violet to dark green, her nostrils slightly flared. Dron fell silent and watched.   
  
She was still staring at the Cronch, frowning. Suddenly her head tilted to the side and a large, nasty smile crept across her face.   
  
"I'm in," she whispered. "Here we go ..."  
  
  



	10. Imminent Meetings

  
Time Warriors, Chapter 10  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The shuttle glided smoothly through the gaseous clouds, dipping closer and closer to the surface of the planet. The first mate was at her station, one pace in front of the captain's chair and directly behind the navigator, keeping an eye on the crew as they maneuvered the shuttle through the Alerian Sink.   
  
Sh'mg watched dispassionately as the crew piloted the ship toward the Argarian base, each movement mimicking the terrain of the planet. The navigator and the pilot were working well with each other, Sh'mg noted with approval, the lights on her helmet blinking in a calm, methodical fashion. Her hunch had paid off handsomely; they were exactly on schedule. It didn't pay to stay longer than necessary in the Sink's chemical soup, if for no other reason than the chlorine would dissolve the outer hull in a matter of hours.  
  
Their mother ship was still orbiting the planet, albeit well cloaked, using their Proteus device. As far as Sh'mg could tell, no one except their contacts had noticed their arrival - exactly as planned.   
  
The less Argarians who know about our arrangement, the better, she thought, a hard glint in her granite eyes. Those that had been curious in the past were curious no more.  
  
Several audible thuds sounded from the aft section. The captain, seated behind Sh'mg, raised his brow in an unspoken question, green slime facilitating the movements of the individual plates that made up his face. Normally, he stayed with the mother ship and permitted his first to do all the negotiations, but this time he had insisted on accompanying them to the planet's surface. Sh'mg understood his desire to be with his team, but at the same time felt that he should not place himself at risk to simply negotiate for supplies.   
  
It's not right, she thought yet again, frowning as much as her craggy exterior would allow. But her desire to please and serve her commander kept her from voicing her misgivings, even though an uneasy feeling about the mission tumbled in her gut. She turned away from the captain to stare at the back of the command deck.   
  
The rear door slid open, revealing two crewmembers, each straining to pull a large pallet, tightly covered with a shiny blue tarp. The pallet slid on the deck and ground to a halt behind the captain's chair, making a heavy, scraping sound, with the hapless H'trch who had moved it stumbling next to it.  
  
"Explain, Ka'srk," the captain said directly to one of the crewmembers with the pallet. His tone was one of mild reproof as he stared at him, waiting.  
  
The pallet guard stepped forward and bowed. "Sir - these are the materials you requested." He fumbled in a small, black bag hanging from his shoulder, pulled a small computer disc from the bag and said, "We brought 5 pallets, each with identical cargo. Also," he continued, handing the disk to Sh'mg with a stony hand, "we have included a file that shows the Galactic credits held for our hosts at the InterGalactic Depository in the usual main account. This disk gives the encryption code to that account." Ka'srk stood back respectfully, inclining his head.   
  
The captain took the disk from Sh'mg, popped it into the viewer on his console and nodded. "This amount is sufficient for payment. We will insure they are satisfied with it." He motioned to Ka'srk to uncover a portion of the bundle, which he did, his movements awkward and slow. The captain stood up, rumbled out of his chair and moved next to the minerals and precious metals on the pallet, inspecting them with a critical eye.   
  
He paused and looked at his subordinate again, his granite eyebrows appearing as a single large ridge across the rocks of his face. "Ka'srk?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, sir?" the technician promptly replied, drawing his gaze from the side of the ship and looking directly at the captain. If a H'trch could have been said to have stiffened, Ka'srk would have done it at that moment.   
  
The captain looked down at the pile by his feet. "You certainly have the knack of choosing. Most of this is low grade quality; some of the pieces on the top are high grade, but not many. However, the arrangement of the minerals shows the high quality material to its best advantage. You have done well."  
  
Ka'srk visibly straightened. "Thank you, sir."   
  
The captain turned back to his first mate, motioning Ka'srk to move the pallet to the cargo bay. "How close are we to landing, Sh'mg?"  
  
She turned to peer over the navigator's shoulder. "Within minutes, sir." Nudging the navigator's back, the first asked, "Have they hailed us yet, N'hrt?"?p  
  
"I am just receiving their identifier," the navigator replied crisply, his gaze slipping across the instrument panel. "Shall I respond, sir?"  
  
Sh'mg glanced at the captain, waiting for his answer. Seeing his nod, she ordered, "Affirmative. After you have received confirmation, start deceleration and final approach - and insure that you transmit everything back to the orbiter on a secure channel."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," N'hrt replied, busying himself at the controls. Sh'mg took her position next to the captain's chair, watching as the pilot readied the shuttle for its approach to the Alerian Sink base, already thinking ahead to their meeting with the Alerian officials.  
  
Her outer appearance betrayed nothing of her true thoughts. It was a distasteful , repugnant piece of business - but trading with the softbodies was necessary for their survival. At least for now.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Damn, these things are dense ... Theo thought to herself, squeezing her eyes in concentration, forcing her ghee-sodden mind to work. And I thought Saiyans were bad ...   
  
The Guardian tried to push herself delicately into the psyche of the closest Cronch, but their minds were like thick rubber; they gave under her touch, but gentle, subtle pressure only moved the protective coating around. She needed to pierce that barrier to gain access to their frontal lobes - and she belatedly realized that her customary light, discrete touch would not help her at all.  
  
Her right hand held in the air toward Dron as a warning , Theo allowed her anger and irritation at the Cronch to work its way into her thoughts and concentrated that energy at the largest one. Now open, you stupid thing, she thought, exasperated, as she pulled as much power from the wellspring as it would allow - which wasn't much, because it was flooded with ghee - and launched herself at the beast's mind.  
  
Guardians did not have a natural affinity for every creature's mind; in order to access those that proved particularly stubborn, they used a combination of finesse, manipulation and brute force. Less skillful Guardians attacked their quarry head on - that usually immobilized their prey, which was good, but also tended to drop the prey in their tracks, thereby alerting its comrades that something was wrong. Theo, however, wanted her quarry to remain conscious and invisibly controlled - a much more difficult task.   
  
She mentally threw herself at the Cronch, trailing power like a crystalline net behind her. While her body remained motionless behind the rock, her mind bridged the gulf between them in an instant. She breached his mind at the base of his skull; it involved an impressive amount of controlled coercive power, directed at the juncture of his head and spine. Theo focused on that spot, allowing the momentum of her leap to provide the impetus, and drilled into his psyche with the precision of a surgeon.   
  
"I'm in," she whispered. "Here we go ..."  
  
Once there, Theo sent multiple tendrils of coercive energy to all sections of his brain, stroking the gross motor centers while she drew pulsing power around his mind in a fine mesh pattern. She was everywhere at once, so much so that the Cronch had no inkling that his thoughts, feelings and impulses were being manipulated. All he knew was that suddenly his companions smelled bad; in fact, they stank so much that he gagged and moved away from them, shuddering and retching.  
  
"You - are -- disgusting," the Cronch choked, stumbling away from his companions. "Don't they have 'freshers on your ship, for Kami's sake? How can anyone stand to be around you people - you reek!"  
  
The other Cronch stared at him. "What - "  
  
"Ah, jeez!" the larger Cronch gasped, fanning a large, meaty hand in front of his face, shaking his balding head back and forth. "You have got to be kidding me! The latrine's over there, dungboys! Don't you have that on your ship, either? What are you, brainless as well as putrid?"  
  
Several of the Cronch in the group scowled and snorted at him. "Why, you-"  
  
"You people have got to be the dirtiest, filthiest, bunch of cowardly lowlifes that ever crawled across the surface of a planet - I can't believe that you have the balls to call yourselves Cronch. You should be in that pen, slobbering with the rest of the rejects, not guarding it, for Kami's sake!"  
  
And that was all it took. Every Cronch in that group threw himself, howling "Traitor!" at the one that Theo penetrated. He was ready, too; he had his blaster drawn and was firing point blank at everyone hurtling at him, dropping most of them in mid-leap. Several, however, successfully avoided his shots and leaped at him, knocking him back as his blaster flew in the air and dropped several meters away.  
  
He rolled and snarled, managing to stay on his feet as he whipped a wicked-looking serrated knife from his belt and brandished it in front of his attackers. They growled as they circled each other, an ugly, guttural sound, then pounced with a ferocity seldom seen outside their death arenas. When the dust and sand cleared, the Cronch that Theo manipulated lay in a widening pool of his own blood, his chest crushed and his skull cleaved in two by his own knife. The Cronch that killed him stood over his body, wild-eyed and panting, blood dripping from their hands.  
  
Dron watched the scene unfold in front of him from the security of his rock hiding place, not believing his eyes.   
  
"Next," Theo said under her breath, swinging her head toward another group of Cronch standing outside the fence. She was smiling evilly, her eyes narrowed to slits as she chose her victim. "Oh, you'll do. You're perfect," she crooned, her fingers spread out on the rock in front of her.  
  
Following the direction of her gaze, Dron looked into the desert and saw another group of Cronch swarming toward the first, blasters drawn and ready. Without warning, a large male with an orange crest lunged at the leader of the group, grabbed him around his waist and tackled him to the ground. Several other Cronch toppled over as well; the tightly knit battle group scattered, some stumbling sideways while others lagged behind. Most of them, however, watched in horrified incredulity as the orange crested Cronch flipped the downed leader on his back, stuck his knee in the middle of his chest, yanked a small pistol from his belt and shot him full in the face.   
  
The remaining members of that battle group were momentarily frozen in shock, giving a slight advantage to the orange crested one. After killing his leader, he twisted and rolled to the left, fired a volley of deadly shots at his companions, screamed insults and challenges at them, then lunged to his feet and tore eastward into the desert.   
  
Bellowing in reply, the other Cronch fired a barrage at the traitor's last position, then gave chase across the desert. As they careened after him, several intentionally shot their own comrades, downing them in a shower of energy bursts. Stray blaster volleys went everywhere; knocking the tops from large desert plants, splattering anyone in the area with sticky, shredded cactus, and boring holes in anything that happened to be in their way - including rocks and people. Unintentional victims, such as Cronch from other combat groups or some of the unfortunate captives inside the fence, became part of the general melee. The maimed and the dying were everywhere - blaster shots did not discriminate. And once a Cronch was injured, his friends went on a rampage to avenge him, screaming their challenges to the open air.  
  
The desert sun rose above the horizon, illuminating a hideous, bloody scene. Cronch from every part of the encampment were brawling; if they weren't shooting each other with their blasters, they were beating each other to bloody pulps in vicious hand-to-hand combat. They rolled, screamed and snapped at each other, literally tripping over the dead and wounded strewn across the desert floor. The sounds and stench from the battle rose over the wasteland in waves, rolling into the sky.  
  
Theo stared intently from her outcrop in the rocks, watching the entire spectacle unfold, targeting Cronch after Cronch, coercing them to fight. During the clash, several shots whizzed over her head, boring small, perfectly round holes in the stone; she remained still and concentrated on the conflict in front of her, apparently oblivious to any personal danger.   
  
Dron, on the other hand, crouched as low as he dared, his pocket laser drawn, his short, gray hair blending into the rocks. Several times he pushed Theo's head down, protecting her from flying debris as blaster shots ricocheted around them; she looked at him and nodded her thanks, but he knew she wasn't seeing him. The color of her eyes was changing furiously, from dark green to dark blue to a midnight black; he tore his own gaze away from hers, shuddering. Much too dark ...  
  
Finally she closed her eyes, tilted her head back and slumped against the rock wall for several moments. When she opened her eyes again she gazed directly at Dron. The inhuman glee that shone there was gone, replaced by something that looked like aching pain; and the dark color of her eyes had been replaced with light blue and sea green, slowly swirling together.  
  
"We should go," she whispered, barely audible above the tumult and turmoil of battle. Sunlight fell on the left side of her face, throwing the right side into deep shadow. Her eyes had a hollow look, as though someone had thoroughly beaten her.   
  
Dron nodded once in agreement, staring at her as if mesmerized. "How ... I don't ... how did you do all this?" he asked, carefully keeping his tone neutral.  
  
She looked beyond the fence, her body still slumped against the rocks. "It was their idea to start shooting, not mine, " she said, her voice subdued. "Once the idea was there, I couldn't stop it. I tried, but ... I couldn't."   
  
Dron looked at the bodies littering the ground outside their enclave. "Not an honorable way to die."  
  
Suddenly her gaze shifted and pierced him, as brilliant and hard as diamonds. "Honor?" she hissed. "Honor? What are your talking about?"  
  
"They had no idea what actually attacked them," he responded. He felt more than a little uncomfortable under her scrutiny. "They couldn't properly defend themselves."  
  
"And that's a problem?" Theo glared at him, outraged. "What did you want me to do? You saw how many there were - they were going to kill us, remember? Would you rather have had them kill you 'honorably?' Because that's exactly what would have happened - you would be dead by now. They're actually doing us a tremendous favor by killing themselves, the stupid brutes - and all we have to do is watch." She snorted slightly, scowled at him and pushed herself upright, clutching her ripped tunic closed in front of her chest. "Come on, let's go. We won't get another chance."  
  
Theo moved away from their haven, muttering angrily to herself as she trotted quickly toward the gate. Her head constantly moved from side to side, her quick gaze checking for danger in their path. Dron followed, his eyes glued to her back, and realized that she had not answered his question.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Frowning in concentration, Piccolo strained his senses to pick up whatever signals he could from the eastern horizon. An undercurrent of psychic energy had hovered near them ever since they had arrived; that power, he was sure, had been the cause of Vejiita's more than usual irritation. Now a significant energy signature had suddenly appeared, blooming like an unexpected rose in the desert. Previously, the signal had only been background noise, so diffuse that it was impossible to pinpoint the source; now, however, it was obvious where the power was located.   
  
It was essentially the same energy signature that had invaded him when the Earth delegation traveled to Argus; that gentle, insistent power had permeated his senses, engulfed his essence and left him unharmed, proclaiming him unique. He had sensed steel behind the gentleness, though, and had fleetingly glimpsed a power that, while totally unlike anything he knew, had a depth and breadth that was tremendous in scope.  
  
Piccolo also recognized that the localized energy source was simply a small part of that greater whole; in spite of that, his warrior's soul was intrigued, feeling its hidden potential. But he wasn't the only one - somehow, the Saiyan prince had recognized that potential as well and had leaped from the balcony not moments before, the predator following the spoor of its prey.  
  
But something's not right, Piccolo thought as he followed Vejiita's trail with his mind. Vejiita is much too upset and focused for him to simply be curious - it's almost as if he believes he's been personally insulted, that someone's hiding something just from him. The Namek had the uneasy feeling that something extremely unpleasant was going to happen when the Saiyan actually found the being with this energy signature - and knowing Vejiita, the unpleasantness wasn't going to be simply confined to sharp, angry words.   
  
Why should I care about what happens to some nameless alien? he wondered, irritated at himself for not turning away. We have enough problems as it is. Without warning a feeling of warmth suffused him, tingling from his toes to his crown; the warmth of pure-hearted souls penetrating his psyche. His sight blurred and shifted, and for a moment Piccolo surrendered to the visions of Kami; he watched and felt the universe through that filter of warmth - but suddenly it disappeared, replaced by intense feelings of desolation and loneliness, a spiritual wasteland surrounding him.   
  
Alternate realities, he realized, showing me possibilities of what could be, with and without this power around us. Sighing, he permitted Kami to nudge him toward the inner apartment, thinking, there's not much time - we'll have to hurry.  
  
Turning from the balcony, the large Namekian stalked inside, scowling. "Gokuu - Gokuu, where are you? We have to hurry - I need your help."  
  
"I'm right here, Piccolo," the large Saiyan replied with a puzzled look, walking into the front room, a large towel in his hands. "What's wrong?" His face and hands were scrubbed clean of the grime and oil that had coated every inch of the machinery Bulma insisted they take with them, but his gi was still marked and stained with large black streaks. Looking around, he frowned in bewilderment and asked, "And where's Vejiita?"  
  
"That's why we have to hurry, Gokuu," Piccolo responded, folding his arms across his chest. "There's something going on with him, and I don't know what it is. Vejiita flew off without saying a word to anyone." Piccolo stopped speaking and looked at Gokuu, considering. "Hey, Gokuu ... have you felt anything strange since we've arrived on Argus VI? Anything at all?"  
  
"Strange? No, not really. There's something .... itchy, maybe ...," he said, wrinkling his nose and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, looking around the room. "I can't quite place it, but I can feel it right now. "  
  
"Come over here and stand on the patio, Gokuu," Piccolo ordered, unfolding his arms and indicating where Gokuu should stand. "Tell me if you feel anything."  
  
Dubious, Gokuu complied - but as soon as he stepped out of the apartment, his face lit up in happy recognition. "That's it, Piccolo!" he enthused, turning to his old friend. "That's the feeling! Wow, it's a lot stronger - and it's coming from over there!" He nodded his dark head toward the eastern portion of the city where the sun was peeking over the horizon.   
  
"Do you think it's friendly?" Piccolo asked, probing.  
  
"Well, it's not evil, if that's what you're asking," Gokuu responded, staring into the sky. "It's ... it's just like ... " and he trailed off, thinking. Suddenly his eyes brightened, he snapped his fingers and he stared straight at Piccolo. "It's just like that energy we felt before we came here!" he exclaimed, happy at solving the mystery so completely. Immediately, however, his face fell and he became puzzled again. "But ... it isn't exactly the same, either," he said, bewildered. "This chi doesn't feel as strong as the other."  
  
"I think that's because there's only one person here," Piccolo rumbled, looking eastward toward the rising sun. "There were several people linked the last time this happened."  
  
"Several people - how do you know?" asked Gokuu, looking perplexed, his nose wrinkling in concentration.  
  
"Because they spoke with me," Piccolo said, raising an eyebrow at Gokuu as if daring the Saiyan to contradict him.  
  
The Saiyan shook his head, his unruly hair waving like errant spikes, and looked back into the eastern sky. "If you say so, Piccolo, then I believe you," he responded with equanimity. "What did they say to you?"  
  
"They explored my mind, and called me unique," Piccolo said, reliving the memory again, feeling the warmth of their spirits merging briefly with him again. "I felt - happy. Complete. And they felt - like one. You're right, they aren't evil - but it's hard to explain. There's a lot more power there than meets the eye." He looked at the marble floor, then back at Gokuu. "And then suddenly their chi changed. It was almost as if they recognized something that made them afraid - and they pulled away from us, out of the ship."  
  
"And you think it was Vejiita that changed them, don't you?" Gokuu asked shrewdly, watching the play of muscles on his friend's face, candidly gauging his reaction.  
  
"I do, Gokuu," Piccolo rumbled, nodding. "I think they felt him and pulled back as far as they could go. He's been acting strangely ever since it happened."  
  
"I know - I talked to him about it once," Gokuu said. "He told me he'd met this energy before, and that it knew him. He told me -" and here Gokuu frowned, thinking hard, "that he would find it again - and that he would punish it, too, because it tried to attack something he was sworn to protect - something that was his. He was pretty serious about that"   
  
Piccolo snorted. "Now he has his chance. I think this particular alien is just unlucky - his crewmates must have left him behind, not realizing we'd come to this planet. We have to hurry and stop Vejiita, Gokuu," Piccolo continued, his large eyes narrowing in concern, "because I think he's going to do something to this creature that will put us all in danger. I can feel it."  
  
"In danger? Really?" The Saiyan warrior shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck again, plainly bothered by the turn of the conversation. "Well then, we can't let him do that. We can't let Vejiita hurt this alien just because he wants to punish others like him, especially if it puts us in danger. That's not right."  
  
Gohan walked into the brisk morning air, massaging his arms quickly. "Bulma decided to sleep for a couple of hours before working on the machine, so she threw me and Kuririn out of the bathroom and told us to leave." He grinned ruefully. "At least she let me dry off before she threw me out."  
  
"Yeah, she didn't do that for me." Kuririn's voice floated out to the balcony, muffled by the towel he was using to wipe his face. He had managed to get the worst part of the grime from his face, like Gokuu, but hadn't changed from his stained and soiled gi, either. "She wouldn't even let me dry off - just threw the towel in my hands and pushed me out the door. I was lucky she gave me the towel."  
  
Gohan turned to look at his father and Piccolo, a questioning look on his face. "Can you feel something in the air? It's - it feels electric, somehow ... and it seems to be coming from over there ..." He nodded toward the eastern part of the city, frowning. "My head tingles."  
  
"Well, I don't feel anything at all," Kuririn put in, moving next to Gokuu and staring toward the east. "It just looks like a regular sunrise on a regular day to me, that's all. Of course we are on a different planet, and all. Maybe that's why you're feeling strange," he offered to Gohan.  
  
"No, he's right, Kuririn," Piccolo said, his green skin tinged with pink from the dawn. "There's something happening here, and we're going to have to find out exactly what it is. Are you ready, Gokuu?"  
  
He nodded, the corded muscles in his neck bunching in anticipation. "I want you to come with us, Gohan. And Kuririn, old friend, I'd like you to stay here. Keep an eye on Bulma and her father for me."  
  
"Sure, Gokuu," the Earthman said, shaking his head in agreement. "Whatever you need me to do ... you know that." He shrugged and continued, saying, "I'll be able to catch all the local news here, so I can tell you anything you need to know about the city. That is, if Bulma lets me use the video terminal."  
  
"Oh, she will, she will," said Gohan, giving his friend an impish smile. "We found the security camera recordings, remember? Just tell her that - and show her the copy. She'll let you do almost anything you want after that, I guarantee it."  
  
Piccolo and Gokuu looked at Gohan, mystified; the younger man chortled, saying, "You don't need to know about this. It's just something I saw that looked pretty funny, and I showed Kuririn. And we checked out the video security system here while we saw that ... thing."  
  
"I'll see what I can do about it, Gohan," Kuririn said, looking much more cheerful and satisfied. His eyes were bright as he considered the possibilities. "I think you're probably right."  
  
Gokuu motioned the other two warriors to move closer to him. "Grab hold of each other and someone hold onto me," he directed.   
  
Gohan and Piccolo immediately understood what Gokuu wanted. They stood next to each other; Gohan had a light grip on his sensi's arm, while Piccolo held Gokuu's wrist in one hand. Gokuu closed his eyes and put two fingers of his free hand to his forehead.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Kuririn, backing away from the little group.  
  
"We're going to find Vejiita," Piccolo said, his voice grim as they vanished.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Small beads of perspiration snaked their way down Lieutenant Grant's temples and found their path into the collar of his uniform. He and his crew stood inside an enormous hanger, one of the largest buildings in the Sink - but he was sweating as if he was closeted in a 2 by 2 meter room with five large, mean, hungry aliens.  
  
Looking at the H'trch directly across from him, he felt eternally grateful that he was not required to get any closer to them than he was; not only was the temperature several dozen degrees warmer than normal, but the stench coming from the aliens was almost unbearable. Add to that their odd, helmeted twitches whenever they were addressed and the overt hostility coming from their mission crew, Grant had the undeniable feeling that these rock creatures would like nothing better than to rip and consume each 'softbody' they saw. The fact that his crew was armed with small laser cannons did nothing to quell his misgivings.   
  
The H'trch captain, by contrast, saw nothing of the honed predator Grant professed himself to be; instead, the H'trch saw an uncertain, brash human, willing himself still in front of his crew when it was patently obvious he would prefer to be running in the opposite direction. The captain gave him high marks for courage, at least in meeting and negotiating with them, considering that this human understood the H'trch's true nature. He wondered, idly, if the young man could be pressed into their service. Spies were common enough on Argus VI, and the captain was savvy enough to realize that someone who wasn't some type of spy was suspicious in and of itself.   
  
"We appreciate your meeting us on such short notice," the captain began smoothly, inclining his massive head toward Grant, his translator's tones resonant and as solid as the equipment on his chest. "Your efforts on our behalf have been noted."   
  
"It is our pleasure to greet our friends," Grant returned formally. He swept his arm behind him, indicating the tall, covered pallets that were flanked on either side by his squad. "As is our custom, we prepared your usual order for your arrival. We hope it meets with your satisfaction - we were, unfortunately, caught off guard with your early arrival, and did not have time to prepare it as usual.."  
  
The H'trch captain nodded. "You are well known among the H'trch, Grant," he rumbled. "We are sure that you honor us, as you honored our sister ships. Also, we understand that you did not have the usual amount of time to prepare the specimens. It is understandable if some parts of the refinement process have not been completed."  
  
Grant repressed a shudder when the captain mentioned his 'sister ships' and the 'refinement process.' The last H'trch delegation to Argus VI had not been as pleasant as the present one; in fact, it had almost been necessary to escort them out of the system at gunpoint. They had insisted upon eating immediately upon their arrival, and had caused pandemonium among the crew who were unfamiliar with the dietary habits of the aliens. It had taken all Grant's diplomatic skill to get them off the planet and insure that the military hotheads did not use atomics to help the H'trch on their way. At the same time, he had to ship and collect payment for the provisions ordered by the H'trch; after all, payment was, first and foremost, the most important item on the agenda. Payment and, of course, the possibility of additional monies when the H'trch came back.  
  
Motioning behind him, the H'trch captain indicated several pallets of their own, covered by large, thick tarps. "And, as is our custom, we have your payment for such excellent goods and services." As he spoke, the H'trch standing next to each pallet picked up the long lead line and dragged it over to Lieutenant Grant. One of the H'trch offered him a black canvas bag that had been swinging from his giant shoulder. Grant accepted it calmly, opened it and pulled out the disk, then nodded to the alien's captain.  
  
He slung the bag over his shoulder and, in almost the same movement, flipped back the corner of the tarp with a flourish to expose the pallet load of precious stones and minerals. An audible gasp came from those in the unit who had never seen that much wealth before, earning an immediate glare from the sergeant. Keeping his face carefully blank, Grant scrutinized the gemstones closest to him, choosing several and handing them to his sergeant, who placed them in a small, black box. Grant made a mental note to insure that all squad members were fully indoctrinated in proper negotiation behavior before they were permitted on missions. That reaction, had it been at a more critical time, could have been the difference between full payment and partial payment, or a contracted negotiated in their favor or the H'trch's. And payment was, of course, the most important piece of the transaction, and the only reason the Argarian government did any trading at all with the H'trch.   
  
Grant covered the mineral pallet and nodded to his sergeant. The soldier stepped forward and snapped his hand, motioning several people from the ranks to come forward and drag the pallets to the back of the hanger.  
  
"I will need to examine the disk, of course," Grant said, pulling a small palmboard from his pocket and ignoring his men struggling to drag the pallet away. "But please - feel free to examine our material, as well."  
  
The H'trch captain inclined his massive head again toward Grant, then motioned for several of the crew to go to the human-prepared pallets and examine the merchandise. Several members of the crew nodded, moved away from their comrades and walked toward the opposite end of the hanger.   
  
As the H'trch moved toward the pallets, Grant muttered to his sergeant, "Get anyone who hasn't seen this previously out of here right now."  
  
Nodding his head, the sergeant barked several orders to his troops; in an instant, five men stepped forward.   
  
"Guard duty, in the corridors. No one in or out, no matter who they are. Now!" the sergeant snapped, managing to look vicious and intimidating even while alien monsters were shuffling on either side of him.  
  
"Sir!" the troops shouted as one, and immediately ran for the hanger doors.  
  
Grant shuddered again, fervently wishing that he, too, could leave the hanger and never look back. But that's not for me, he thought with a bitter flash of insight. I'd never make my bonus that way.  
  
The H'trch walked in front of the pallets, with the human soldiers tripping over themselves to get out of their way. As the rock warriors bent to untie the ends of the tarp from the pallet, it was obvious that whatever the humans were trading to the H'trch was enclosed in a large, transparent, rectangular tanks. Something that was thick and green, almost gelatinous in nature, filled the container. It was oozing slowly side to side, small bubbles in the substance showing its slow, swirling path. There seemed to be dark shadows in the middle of the tank - some floating above the base, some apparently anchored to it - and an eerie, phosphorescent glow about the tank's visible portion.  
  
Each Argarian carefully controlled their expression, but their posture straightened and they gripped their weapons loosely in front of them. Every soldier knew what the tanks contained and braced themselves for the inevitable.  
  
Grant forced himself to calmness and stared at the tanks, feeling the H'trch commander's gaze on him.  
  
The captain looked at Grant, shook his head and turned to watch as his people uncovered the vessels and started to test the material inside them. I will never understand a species that trades their own, he thought to himself in disgust, watching his people drop their probes and meters into the substance, never.   
  
Sh'mg was monitoring the technicians, efficiently directing each to drop probes in various places in the tanks. Even thought the tanks were over three meters tall, the H'trch had no problems accessing the tops - they were nearly four meters tall themselves.   
  
She walked over to her captain and offered him a look at her readouts, ignoring the stricken expressions of the Argarians as they stared at the tanks and their contents, clutching their guns to their chests. "Everything seems to be in order, sir," she murmured, clipping her words, the only sign of her discomfort with the humans. "The energy readings are within the normal range. We should be able to make do with material like this for several months, at least."  
  
"Excellent," the captain replied, holding her monitor in his large, granite hand. "Discounting for stray energy currents in this building, I agree with you. The quality isn't good, but ... it will do."  
  
"Yes, sir," she said, taking the unit back from him. "I'll just let-"  
  
Without warning, the hand held monitor started to whine - softly at first, but then becoming more strident with every passing moment. Sh'mg and the captain looked in disbelief as the indicators climbed out of the normal to the extreme range, the volume and pitch of the alarm increasing simultaneously.   
  
"That can't be," Sh'mg said, incredulous, "unless-"  
  
Suddenly the technicians that had been dropping probes into the tanks stepped back from their work, howling, the helmets covering their heads blazing with light. Guttural, incoherent roars sounded from the three techs as their arms punched toward the ceiling. As one, Grant and his soldiers fell back from the H'trch, drew their weapons and trained them on aliens that had suddenly gone berserk.  
  
"STOP!" roared their commander, throwing his massive arms out on either side of his body. Immediately, the techs were silent and motionless, their bodies tensed to do whatever their commander wished. Only their helmets showed their extreme agitation.  
  
A beat passed as the commander and his second regarded their people, completing excluding the Argarians.   
  
With his blaster drawn and trained on the H'trch commander, his shaky finger on the trigger, Lieutenant Grant grated into the silence, "H'trch captain. Explain. What the hell was that?"  
  
Both the commander and the second turned to look at Grant at the same time. He almost screamed in response; as it was, his blaster seemed to jump in his hands and his mouth had become as dry as the desert outside of Port City Four.  
  
Rocks don't have expressions, he told himself, terrified, but if they did, I swear these would be ... ravenous. Evil. Vindictive. And dear Kami, we invited them here. He heard his men shifting nervously behind him.  
  
"Well?" Grant demanded, locking his legs together to prevent his knees from trembling.  
  
"She ... is here," the commander said slowly, his facial planes shifting as he stared through Grant. "The destroyer of our race ... the Time Lord ... the murderer of our children ... is here. On your planet."   
  
Sparing a glance at the uncovered tanks behind the aliens that stood forgotten in the middle of the hanger, Grant had a momentary twinge of conscience.  
  
... children ...  
  
"I still have no idea what or whom you are talking about," declared Grant, looking back at the H'trch and losing what little control over his own emotions he had been able to retain. "What is a Time Lord? and what does it have to do with -"  
  
The H'trch covered the ground between them in surprisingly little time, looming over the lieutenant who involuntarily clamped his mouth shut and recoiled in fear. The alien leaned down toward Grant, the sulfurous odor that surrounded his gargantuan body gagging the smaller man. He reached out with one hand and turned Grant's blaster away from his chest with one gentle finger as the lieutenant watched with enormous eyes, breathing hard.   
  
Placing one flintlike hand on Grant's cringing shoulder, the H'trch captain hissed menacingly, "This Time Lord is wanted for crimes against the H'trch, human. I vowed to find her and make her pay for the destruction of my people... my planet ...." The captain's hand closed painfully on Grant's shoulder, crushing without breaking as he continued in a voice laced with venom, "She's here ... on your planet ... and I want her, human. I want her delivered to me - or else my crew and I will search your planet thoroughly for her. And I do mean thoroughly." The H'trch straightened to his full height and breadth, stared down at the hapless man and pushed his red maw into an ugly parody of a smile. "Your choice, of course."  
  
Staring back at the granite giant, Grant could only nod his head and rasp, "We ... we are at your service, captain. We will find whomever you want, wherever they may be on the planet."  
  
"Good," the giant rumbled, a cold, calculating look on his jointed face.   
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*  



	11. Revealing Power

Time Warriors Chapter 11  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Pulsing power, sinuous and slippery, easily evaded his grasp. It hovered around him, taunted his psyche without mercy and triggered old memories as his body swept through the air.  
  
"Ah, my young little monkey. You do have such interesting talents - it would be a shame to kill  
you simply because you could not control your temper, don't you agree? Now, then ... again, my   
pet ... try again ..."  
  
As he sliced through the dawn tinged sky, humiliation, anger and fear boiled in his veins. It was as fresh as the night the little tyrant murmured those mocking words to him, leaving him gasping with helpless rage. Freeza's flexible tail had slowly twisted around his body, bringing the prince ever closer to the tyrant's thin black lips as his colorless eyes shone with undisguised lust. The despot had prodded and squeezed and fondled the royal child, using a combination of brute force and emotional manipulation to coerce the boy into submitting to his ministrations and commands until Vejiita was convinced he was going to go completely insane.  
  
Where did that come from? He immediately pushed the memory away, banishing it from his conscious mind with an effort of will. His mouth stretched across his teeth in a tight grimace of fury as his eyes scanned the terrain for signs of the one transmitting that teasing energy signal, his muscles tense and ready for battle.   
  
Another memory flashed in front of his eyes -   
  
The slight breeze feels wonderful against his neck. He is standing in his private training room,  
just behind the doors that open to his tiny garden. Heat rises from the flagstones in a shimmer,   
and the breeze brings the scent of grass and wildflowers to him - Vejiitasei is always hot, but today  
in particular is turning out to be a nasty scorcher.   
  
Keeping his tail snug and secure about his waist, he looks but doesn't see that small plot in front   
of him - outrage and frank curiosity are goading him to action. Something happened that morning -   
something that intrigued and angered him so much that he still felt those emotions rolling around   
in his mind - something that pushed him so that he was now willing to involve his personal guard   
and play a deadly game with -  
  
with -  
  
"With what, dammit?" he screamed in frustration as he flashed across the sky like a bullet. "With what? Show me NOW!"  
  
But no matter how much he shouted at it, his memory refused to cooperate; a dense fog curled around the rest of his mind, shrouding the balance of the scene in mystery. The only things he could remember were his feelings - cold anticipation mingled with vicious excitement, and something else - a need to possess, to dominate and control something he didn't understand, to make it completely his own. He was the Prince of Vejiitasei, after all, and his will was law. He would have what he wanted precisely when he wanted it, and he wanted it now.  
  
Vejiita was so abstracted with his own thoughts that he missed the small, tell-tale energy pulse and slammed full force into Gokuu, Gohan and Piccolo as they materialized in front of him.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The gate was unguarded - or, if it had been guarded, it had long ago been abandoned. By this time, most Cronch had deserted their posts to bound snarling at their comrades, as they tried to totally annihilate each other.  
  
Howling, crested Cronch continued to dash across the desert encampment in their quest to destroy anyone in their path. Huge geysers of dirt and sand sprouted unexpectedly from all parts of the site as stray blaster shots found their marks, flinging bodies of the Cronch and their captives alike into the air. The noise from the battle was deafening, and the sharp smell of ozone and crisping flesh hung over the camp like a noxious cloud.   
  
Theo and Dron scurried toward the gate, pushing and dragging any mobile Cronch captives with them. They found one of the prisoners huddling in the sand; a tall, thin male, obviously terrified, lying next to a rock, trying to pretend that he was part of the rock as he thrust his head into the soft ground.  
  
"Come ON!" Theo hissed at him, exasperated, as she tore one of his arms out of hiding and started tugging on it. "We don't have time for this foolishness - we have to get out of here!"  
  
The man's head popped out of the sand, brown eyes wide and fearful. "No, no - they'll kill us all! They said they'd kill me if I tried-" and he broke off, staring at Theo, his mouth gaping open.  
  
"What?" she demanded, looking at his expression. Now totally confused, Theo followed his gaze - and found herself looking at her breasts, her ripped shirt completely exposing her torso.  
  
Outrage bubbled and burst in her chest as her emotional control slipped away. "You pervert!" she screamed as she cuffed him on the side of his head hard enough to drive him face first into the sand again. Still angry, she glared at him - then took another look, noticing that his shirt was in one piece - a bit sandy, but serviceable -   
  
"Take it off," she ordered, reaching for the man's waist.  
  
His head popped up from the sand, sputtering. "What?"  
  
"I don't have time for this, fool!" she spit into his face as she yanked his shirt free from his pants. "Either you take this off, or I'll rip your arms out of their sockets and take it myself!"  
  
Seconds later, Theo was clad in a long, sandy, dark blue workshirt that hung almost to her knees, while her supporter was climbing to his feet, shirtless, shivering in the dawn air.  
  
"Theo!" Dron cried from the far side of the gate. "Get out of there!"  
  
Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she watched another knot of Cronch roil toward the entrance to their prison. "Come on, you worthless moron!" she snapped, pushing him toward the gate as she sprinted ahead of him. "We are leaving!"   
  
People streamed through the gate - the prisoners of the Cronch, freed from their bonds by Dron, stumbled out of the pen and into the encampment, dazed and bewildered. Some were leaning on others as they made their way though the gate, only to trip and fall on the Cronch bodies that littered the path.   
  
The spacer grabbed and hurled the dead Cronch out of the way, throwing some of the captives into each other. "Let's go, let's go - move it, move it, move it!!" Dron yelled, pushing and shoving a large number of former prisoners toward the relative safety of the open desert. "You're better off taking your chances out there - anywhere's gotta be better than here."  
  
"Hurry up, for Kami's sake!" Theo snapped, grabbing and shoving people to the other side of the fence as she reached the entrance, elbowing her way through the crowd. "We don't have all day!"  
  
The knot of Cronch rolled right into the fence several meters away from the gate, bringing it down and literally crushing anything underneath it. Blood and ripped flesh were flying everywhere as the Cronch tore into each other, giving up their dead blasters for their long knives and teeth.  
  
Theo squeezed into the panicked crowd that ran out of the gate, trying to push her way over to Dron. She only glimpsed his gray head in the throng once as she tried to shoulder her way toward him.  
  
Without warning, a strong hand clamped down on her left wrist, dragging her off balance and pulling her back into the crowd, toward the pen.  
  
"No!" Theo shouted, yanking in the opposite direction, believing the frightened, shirtless man was hanging onto her for dear life. "You stupid moron, let go of me! Don't go back in there, for Kami's sake - you'll get us BOTH killed!"  
  
Unable to dislodge his hand, Theo whirled to face her antagonist. Her lips curled back from her teeth as she accessed the wellspring again, grabbing the small trickle of power and twisted it into coercive potential as she prepared to dive into her opponent's brain. Her expression was fierce and threatening as she snatched her left wrist to her body, pulling her adversary through the horde into her deadly embrace.   
  
"Theo - it's me, it's me!"  
  
Theo stopped in mid-dive, gasping, "Ally?"   
  
All of a sudden, Allyssa materialized in front of her, her tall form protectively shoving other people away from Theo, her face dark and unreadable in the early morning light. She crushed Theo's wrist in a painful grip as the women stared at each other, shivering in the brisk morning air.   
  
The expression in Allyssa's eyes was undisguised relief mixed with puzzlement as she looked down into Theo's small, oval face. "What happened to your eyes? Ah, well, tell me later - thank Kami you're in one piece," she husked, shaking her head, grabbing Theo's thin shoulders with her free arm. "Your mother would've flayed me alive if you weren't."   
  
"Oh, I'm so glad you're here, Allyssa," Theo said, heartfelt, shaking her head at her friend. "Once the Cronch took me - that big guy did it, too - I had no idea where I was or ..." Her voice trailed off as she watched several expressions chase across Allyssa's face, each more fearsome than the previous.   
  
Allyssa's expression had abruptly transformed from relief to one of suppressed rage; her arm felt like iron as she pulled Theo close to her body, and her grip tightened around Theo's wrist until the Guardian thought her bones would shatter, making her gasp in pain.  
  
"Don't you EVER go off with anyone like that again, Theo," Allyssa ground out, her nose centimeters away from Theo's, her gaze bright and penetrating, "not unless you want me to beat you senseless every single day of your miserable life after that."  
  
Totally taken aback by Allyssa's rebuke, Theo could do nothing but stare helplessly at her friend's threatening expression and stammer, "I ... I'm sorry, Ally ... I didn't ... didn't think that-"  
  
"Obviously," Allyssa muttered, her grip hard and steady around Theo's shoulders and wrist as she stared at the smaller woman. "Thinking wasn't your first priority - drinking seems to have been first on your list." Theo's gaze wavered and fell as waves of color crossed her face; it was clear that any defiance previously there was now gone.   
  
"I'm sorry, Ally," Theo muttered, abashed. "I won't - won't do that again."  
  
Nodding in satisfaction, Allyssa released her shoulders but kept a light grip on her wrist. "Come on, then, we're getting out of here," she said, turning and dragging Theo behind her as she took off through the crowd. She spotted Dron in front of them; as she cut across the throng toward him, Allyssa called over her shoulder, "And Theo - why didn't you tell me those horrid things could fly?"  
  
"Fly? What - what are you talking about?" croaked Theo, completely disconcerted as her bare feet skimmed across the terrain.   
  
"Look up there," Allyssa said, pointing with her free hand at a corner of the sky.  
  
Theo gasped and stumbled behind Allyssa, staring off to her right. "Those Cronch are different, Ally," she called back, turning her attention between watching her footing and watching the sky. "They weren't down here before." And they look like they're getting closer to us, she thought, alarmed. Are they reinforcements?  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Bodies littered the desert camp; bodies upon bodies upon bodies, Cronch and human alike, all sprawled together in a tangled, jumbled heap. Seen from the air, it appeared as though a full scale war was raging at the encampment; several scouts had circled the carnage and immediately flew back to their transport ship to report what they saw. The party returning to the scene included the scouts, many high ranking security guards and the commanders of the ship, plus a large amount of heavy firepower, all brought to repel the enemy.  
  
Sterbol was at the forefront of the battle group; as the overall commander of the transport ship, he felt his first responsibility was to his crew and second to his backers. After all, he reasoned, he'd have no way of procuring any of his "product" without his crew and neither would his investors, so it was in his own best interest to insure the safety and well being of the individuals that served on his ship.  
  
His first glance at the battle site left him with an ominous, unsettled feeling. There was something just not right about the carnage he saw, something that he couldn't quite place - until he realized that there were no aliens among the dead. The unmoving bodies on the desert floor were Cronch and human only; in fact, it appeared that the dead humans were the same type they had been collecting for their client over the past several spans - the weak, scrawny, friendless kind, the kind that no one missed.  
  
"Who was the enemy?" he shouted at the scouts, skimmed through the sky. Those Cronch turned their faces toward him with perplexed, baffled expressions as they shook their heads and replied, "We don't know, commander. We didn't see anyone except our people firing."  
  
A dark, heavy foreboding settled around his chest at that moment - he knew, without understanding the source of his knowledge, that nothing was going to be right ever again. Banking into the wind, he signaled for the rest of his party to follow him as he descended to the butchery below.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Allyssa, Dron and Theo were standing together, watching the large cloud of Cronch draw closer to their position.  
  
"That's it - we're leaving," Allyssa declared, grabbing Theo's wrist again and turning to run through the camp. "I'm not waiting around to see what those guys want. Besides, we have to find the TARDIS remote and Dron's guns." Both she and Dron nodded at each other as they moved out; self defense was their first and only priority.  
  
"Wait, Ally, wait - let me see if I can turn any of them away, or even at each other," Theo said breathlessly, trotting behind her and holding onto Allyssa's wrist with her other hand.  
  
"What?" Allyssa said, glaring behind her at Theo.  
  
"That's what she did to get the Cronch to fight with each other," Dron volunteered, his gaze sliding over to Theo and back again to Allyssa.  
  
"Can't you do that while we're on the move?" Allyssa snapped, not relinquishing Theo's wrist nor slowing her pace.  
  
"No, I can't - I can't concentrate like that right now!" Theo declared, tugging back on her wrist, digging her heels into the sand, her dark hair fanning about her head.  
  
"Fine - all right, all right - hey Dron, wait a minute!" Allyssa called, reluctantly stopping next to a few large rocks and overgrown cactus plants.   
  
The spacer turned around and looked at them quizzically, then glanced at the sky.  
  
Allyssa threw up her hands and gestured to Theo, who planted her feet wide apart and stared at the approaching horde, her hands shading her eyes.  
  
She dug deep inside herself to snag the wellspring power - now a bit more than a trickle, but not much more - and wrapped it into coercive potential. Theo decided to launch herself at the closest individual in the pack; she gathered her psychic strength around her and leaped into the aether, bounding into the mind of the leader.  
  
Quickly spreading her tentacle-like tendrils throughout the creature's brain, Theo tweaked the emotional centers as she had done to hundreds of creatures before - and received a nasty surprise. This creature had a defense against attacks such as hers; a smooth, impermeable wall instantly sprang up between her and the rest of the beast's mind, effectively blocking her access to his other emotional centers and cutting her off from the power she had already placed in his brain.  
  
Damn. Well, so much for a surprise attack, she thought shaking her head. I had better try-  
  
- when a psychic blast came roaring back at her, traveling along the pathway she had created between the creature and herself. She barely had enough time to close the pathway, throw up her own screen and deflect the energy surge, bouncing it back toward the group of Cronch. It was obvious that not all of the Cronch in that battle group were familiar with psychic fighting, as three of them fell out of formation and plummeted to the ground, apparently affected by the blast. The rest, however, kept coming.  
  
Who - who did that? she wondered, peering into the sky.  
  
A voice echoed in the void; Theo felt its harmonics and cracked her screen just enough to hear the blaring call.  
  
You - telepath. I know you. The voice sneered and became ugly. Your little tricks won't work on us, telepath - we're smarter than those idiots that guarded you. Don't move, girlie - we'll be right there.  
  
"Theo? Theo, what's wrong?" Allyssa asked urgently, shaking Theo's arm. The Guardian's face had become deathly pale, and her eyes were changing color rapidly - from sea green to royal blue to dark purple, the colors swirling so much that it appeared to be in constant flux.  
  
... don't move, telepath ...  
  
They're going to kill us, Theo thought, incoherent, I can't let them - I've got to stop them ... And she tried to force her mind to shift reality and leap to that alternate plane with the shining silver discs, the plane of the Kaious, where pulling the strings from the discs meant certain death to her enemies -  
  
- but she was blocked, stymied by her own ghee-contaminated wellspring of power. It refused to respond to her, allowing only a small trickle of stained energy to leak into her mental fingertips.  
  
The flying Cronch were almost directly above them now, the horde large enough to throw a huge shadow over the desert, blocking the rising sun from their view. Sterbol's expression was frightening, visible in the gloom; his crest was fanned, stiffly thrust into the air; his eyes were merciless, dark and glittering; and his face was tightly drawn in an expression that mixed avarice with vengeance and lust.  
  
"So - I see you're all here," he said sardonically, nodding to the three companions. He descended easily and motioned his soldiers to do the same - abruptly there was an entire company of Cronch in front of Theo, a forest of large, snarling, crested creatures. She involuntarily flinched.  
  
Sterbol saw that, and laughed. "Oh, no, no, my little telepath," he chucked as he advanced on them, waving his men forward. "Don't worry - we're going to take care of you and your friends very, very well. Even though you've destroyed two month's worth of work and killed nearly seventy percent of my crew -" and his face momentarily flushed, revealing his simmering fury at that outrage, "-I think you'll fetch more than four times the amount of what those half-wits were willing to pay me for that entire shipment. Telepaths are rare, but fighting telepaths? ah, they are rarer still. A good bargain, ne? But first," he continued, his eyes narrowed in unconcealed hunger as his voice grew husky with need, "I'm going to have some fun." And he advanced on her, closing the gap between them.   
  
Theo stared at the Cronch, a horrified expression on her face. A blast of fear and rage rocked through her to the core of her being when she realized what he wanted, what he was going to do. Holding her hands in front of her body, her arms still and straight, Theo stood her ground and screamed in a rough voice that carried to the edge of the encampment, "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"  
  
Finally, the force and intensity of her emotions pushed past the ghee-created power block at her wellspring and ripped open conduits in her mind that had long lain dormant. Sudden wellspring power coursed through her brain, a wildfire stoked by the tinder of pathways long unused. It erupted from her hands and fingertips in a dizzying display of creative power, a multicolored fireball ramming into the group of Cronch and flinging them with breakneck speed across their own compound and into the desert, landing with a sickening *crunch* against the side of some small cliffs about a kilometer away. The force of the blast flattened all vegetation in a hundred meter radius and knocked everyone else in the vicinity to the ground as it violently smashed into the heart of the Cronch battle group.   
  
And her chi - her personal power signature - suddenly spiked to levels never before felt on that planet, flaring like a sun gone nova in the middle of a tranquil, serene star system, becoming something so unbelievably massive it was impossible to ignore.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Kakarotto! What in blazes are you doing here?"  
  
Vejiita had recovered, just barely, from his head-on collision with the other Z senshi. Piccolo, Gokuu and Gohan had materialized right in front of the prince and had been knocked over like so many bowling pins when Vejiita slammed into them full force, his impetus propelling him through their little group, flinging them aside.   
  
"Ohayo, Vejiita - we were looking for you!" Gokuu rejoined, cheerful as ever, ignoring the other Saiyan's black scowl as he flew back to hover next to the prince.  
  
"We? Looking for me?" the smaller man snarled, glaring at Gokuu then twisting to see Gohan and Piccolo streak back toward them in the sky. His expression grew even darker and his eyebrows drew together as he turned back to Gokuu. "Why? Why are you following me, baka?"  
  
"Because you're making a mistake, Vejiita," rumbled Piccolo as he slid to a stop and hovered next to Gokuu in midair. "There's no need to destroy the being with this chi; there's no sign that the creature is harmful at all."  
  
An incredulous expression crossed the Prince's face as he considered the Namekian with fresh scorn, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "A mistake? Explain yourself, Namek."  
  
"You know what I'm saying," Piccolo argued, turning a baleful eye on Vejiita. "This is the same power we felt when we were traveling in space, only not nearly as strong - the same power that ran from you. That chi was not evil at all, and this chi isn't evil, either - and you know it."  
  
"I never said it was evil, idiot," Vejiita responded, smirking at the alien. "I really don't care if it's evil or not. Now get out of my way."  
  
"No, wait - wait, Vejiita," Gokuu said, catching hold of the smaller man's upper arm as he tried to push past Piccolo.   
  
"What are you doing, Kakarotto?" he snapped, yanking his arm back and glowering at the larger Saiyan.   
  
"Listen, please - I kinda agree with Piccolo on this," Gokuu said, nodding his head at his green friend, barring Vejiita's way. The other Saiyan scowled, but did not try to push by him, waiting for him to continue. "It's funny - the back of my head itches -" and Gokuu rubbed the base of his large neck, the muscles flexing as he scratched, "-but I don't feel the - well, the evil that I felt with Buu, or Cell, or even Freeza. And this chi is really, really different. It almost feels like it ... uh ..." Gokuu trailed off, at a loss for a word that would adequately describe his reaction to the alien energy signal, and frowned. "It sorta shakes inside my head."  
  
"You mean ... it vibrates, 'tousan?" Gohan asked, sliding next to the group in the air. "Because that's what it feels like to me - as if something is buzzing around the back of my head, trying to get in."  
  
Vejiita turned his head and regarded Gohan with a hooded stare. "...trying to get in?" he repeated softly, nodding to himself, then turned back to Gokuu and Piccolo. "So ... this chi that isn't evil is trying to get into your heads? And you had to follow me and tell me this, because ..."  
  
"Because we didn't want you to make a mistake and attack the person with this chi, and then find out you shouldn't have," Gokuu said simply. "That's just not right. And Piccolo thinks you're going to put everyone in danger if you do that, and that's not right, either."  
  
A vein stood out on Vejiita's forehead, pulsing quietly with the force of his suppressed emotions. "Listen to me, Kakarotto," he said, clipping every word with controlled fury. "I don't care whether the creature with this chi is good or evil. Whatever it is, it attacked us - and I will do what I think is right to protect those I've sworn to and to protect what's mine. Nothing is going to challenge me and not pay the price - nothing. You, of all people, should know that." Why I bother explaining anything to this baka, I'll never know, the prince thought to himself in disgust. "Now get out of my way - the chi is moving, and I'll not lose it a second time."  
  
"But Vejiita-" Gokuu started, then suddenly froze, a shocked, incredulous expression on his face.  
  
Raw power, the size and magnitude seldom felt outside their own small circle, rose from the plain below and hit each of the chi-sensitive senshi with the force of a tsunami, blasting through their bodies and minds. It was almost as if they were paper in a gale force wind; all they could do was ride the crest of the power surge and wait for it to subside.  
  
A loud, piercing noise accompanied the power blast, ringing through each of the senshi's heads, bringing a feeling of fear and desperation with it. As they hovered in the air, staring at each other in complete shock, Vejiita's expression appeared to turn inward, as if he was listening to something brought to him by the blast - which, in fact, he was.  
  
"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" rang and reverberated in the corridors of his mind, the familiar timbre of the voice pulling at other doors, opening other brief memories -  
  
--the tyrant's cold hands, reaching for him in the dark - his father's face scowling down at   
him - "Sire," an aghast Raditz gasping, "Are you sure you want to do this?" - hatred and fear   
flashing from multicolored eyes under curly red hair - dangerous power swirling in the air - a   
golden circlet, twirling around his fingers -   
  
As quickly as the power surge had overwhelmed them, it was gone - but it left an indelible trail for any chi sensing being to trace, sparkling across the desert floor to the source of the energy, a scant kilometer away.  
  
Vejiita recovered first, pulling himself out of his reverie to the present, his eyebrows tightly drawn together. That's enough of that, he thought, a slow, savage smirk moving across his face. He watched the other senshi rally themselves, snorted in disgust and said, "Stay here if you want to, Kakarotto - but I'm going in now." Vejiita spun and whirled away from the other warriors, darting across the sky, following the energy trail.  
  
Gokuu had seen that smirk on the prince's face many times in the past, usually right before Vejiita attacked him with a technique that left him sore and aching for days. And if it does that to me ... "Come on!" he called to Gohan and Piccolo, and chased Vejiita across the sky to the Cronch encampment.  



	12. Crossing Paths

Time Warriors Chapter 12  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
H'trch, as a general rule, tended to follow the same predictable pattern - which made them extremely dependable when it came to following orders and rote instructions, but very dull and unimaginative when presented with unique situations.  
  
The soldier in charge of the main orbiting H'trch ship was quite good at his normal job - following orders and determining how alien technology functioned - but became extremely confused and agitated when anything out of the ordinary occurred. Unfortunately, he was also the only person the commander could put in charge of the vessel while he was on the planet; every other H'trch was even more limited when it came to dealing with new situations. This officer, at least, was able to think around problems and come up with a few viable solutions in spite of his intellectual limitations.  
  
The crew had reported a small, anomalous energy spike in the planet's energy spectrum a while ago, and according to standard procedure, had duly noted, logged and reported it. As he read the report, the officer in charge decided that again, according to standard procedure, they should perform a sweep of the planet's surface, just to see if they could locate the spike again. The preliminary results of the sweep, which were by no means conclusive, indicated that the previous spike was nowhere to be found.   
  
Nodding at the navigator to continue to monitor the instrumentation, the officer turned and walked off the bridge, tapping a portable data collector and silently musing. It's just as well, he thought. It would have meant more data analysis, and for what? To see something that would probably turn out to be harmless? Feh - we wouldn't have been able to do anything, anyway - the commander decides what to do with odd things like that, not me.  
  
Satisfied that he had done everything in his power to research the power surge, he hit the button to archive the data for the commander's return and went back to his current assignment - determining how another piece of 'liberated' technology operated. This piece, however, was a bit different than others he had researched; it seemed to work on different principles entirely, ones that dealt with quantum mechanics, black holes and temporal fields. The H'trch entered his workroom and attacked the machinery again, delicately probing the aging electronics, the lights on the outside of his helmet blinking in a complex pattern, mimicking the paths and circuits in front of him.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"We have to be quiet, Goten - no one's around right now, so we can talk as long as we want, but ... just be quiet."  
  
Goten snorted at his friend, his holographic image showing his disdain for anything that even smacked of authority. "What are you talking about, Trunks? It's not like this is illegal or anything -"  
  
"No, but it's just like using the computer or the phone at home - it's fine when no one wants to use it, but once someone sees you using it, they suddenly remember all those different things they have to do. And then you have to let them use it."  
  
"Who's like that, Trunks?" Goten asked, a smirk on his face. "Not your 'tousan, that's for sure -"  
  
"You KNOW who I'm talking about," Trunks snapped back, unconsciously looking over his shoulder. Lowering his voice, he whispered, "I heard 'kassan early this morning - she and everyone else drug all this machinery into the apartment and just left most of it in the lab, with a little stuck over here. But she's asleep right now - ojiisan is in the lab, and Kuririn's with him - and everyone else is gone, so we can finally talk for a while without someone breathing down my neck. That's why I called you."  
  
Goten grinned. He stayed with Mrs. Briefs on a fairly regular basis, ever since the senshi left Earth to venture to Argus VI, and because of that, he had full run of the house, including the kitchen. He felt that he had more freedom here than he did at home, so consequently he tried to arrange to be with Bulma's mother as much as possible. His mother didn't like him being away from home much at all; privately, Goten thought that she just wanted to boss him around twice as much, making up for his father's absence. That's just not fair, he groused to himself. I always get stuck staying home and doing all the chores.  
  
"Well, I can talk just as much as I want," Goten said, snickering, watching his friend's reaction. "I don't have to worry about other people wanting to use the machine. Except maybe for Videl," he said as an afterthought. "But that's no problem at all."  
  
Videl had also been spending a lot of her free time with Bulma's mother as well, and Goten was very happy with that arrangement. She was the one female who didn't make him feel small or stupid for asking questions, she actually laughed at his jokes, and she shared his passion for sports. When he gave the matter a little thought, Goten realized there were times that he actually felt jealous of the relationship his older brother had with her. However, being Goten, he was pretty successful in not moving with that train of thought most of the time.  
  
"Yes, well, my obaasan's the one who lets us talk as much as we want," Trunks replied, slightly miffed at Goten's superior air. "She's the one that answered and called you over. You had your head stuck in the refrigerator, like always - otherwise you would've had no idea that I called."  
  
Goten frowned, not wanting to hear that he wasn't the person in control, and changed the subject.  
  
Mrs. Briefs had indeed answered his call, and answered it on the third ring. Dressed in a blue bathrobe and light blue fuzzy slippers, she had taken one look at Trunks, given him her characteristic sunny smile and asked, cocking her head to one side, "Does your mother know that you're calling?".  
  
"Well ... uh ... ojiisan's working with Kuririn right now ..." Trunks had replied, uncomfortable at not answering her question directly.   
  
She still smiled, but nodded and waved at something out of the range of the holograph. It looked very strange, as if her hands were suddenly disappearing and reappearing on the ends of her arms. "Oh! Oh, Goten - look who's here to chat with you for a few minutes. Yes, dear, you really must get your head of out of the refrigerator, the platform isn't in there, it's over here." Leaning toward the camera, Mrs. Briefs' face suddenly became much larger than life, looming over Trunks like a grinning Easter Island totem.   
  
"Tell your mother I said hi, and tell ojiisan not to work too hard," she said ingeniously, smiling at her grandson. "Can you remember that?"  
  
Trunks nodded, exhaling a sigh of relief that she wasn't demanding to speak with either one. "Okay, obaasan. I'll remember to tell them."  
  
"Oh, good!" she said brightly, turning toward the back of the room. "Hurry up, Goten - don't keep Trunks waiting any longer. Who knows how long this connection will last?"  
  
She had left them alone in the room then, ostensibly to go back to bed; but the more Trunks thought about it, the more he became convinced that she really wanted he and Goten to have a little time alone. You are something, obaasan, he thought with a smile, you really are terrific.   
  
"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?"  
  
Trunks guiltily peered into the holograph, looking at the image of his scowling friend. "No. I'm sorry, Goten - I was just thinking about obaasan. What did you say?"  
  
Goten narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his chest, unconsciously imitating Vejiita as he did. Strangely enough, he found that Trunks seemed to pay him more mind when he stood this way - he had no idea why, he just knew that it worked pretty well. And right now he could see Trunks straightening his spine and sitting up, the picture of attention.  
  
Heh, he smirked to himself. Whatever works.   
  
"I was saying that you're missing the best part of the school year right now - classes aren't hard at all, it's great weather to play outside with the team, and there are a lot of new girls in our grade." Goten's eyes lit up. "There's going to be a dance this Saturday, and a bunch of us are going to get together and go - and then afterwards we thought we'd ..."  
  
Goten started to visibly relax as he described the next few days' upcoming events and the mishaps of the past week to Trunks. It was obvious how much he missed his friend as a confidant; he told him everything about his life, including his reactions to everything from his biology teacher to the new girls at school to the quality of the food at the local sub shop. Trunks started to relax as well, slumping over to one side of his chair and leaning on his elbow, listening to the familiar stories, grinning at Goten's unconscious acknowledgment of his interest in one of the 'new' girls at school.  
  
"... and then I said that I'd - hey! What's the matter with you ? Are you listening to me?" Goten asked, annoyed, peering at his friend through the holograph.  
  
Trunks looked dumbfounded; his jaw had dropped open and his eyes were as wide as saucers, while one hand clasped the back of his head and the other pushed at his temple, threading through his lavender hair. Everything that Goten had said was forgotten and swept away in one mental motion, replaced by something much more massive in scope. "You ... you won't believe this, Goten. I ... I'm feeling a chi that's huge - and I mean huge -" He appeared confused, rubbing the side of his head as he spoke. "It even feels as though it's bigger than any of us - but I can't be sure. It's really, really weird. It feels ... well ... My head itches - it feels as though it's inside my head."   
  
"Bigger than 'tousan?" Goten snorted, clearly not believing what he heard. "Bigger than Gohan? Oh come on, Trunks, you know that can't be true."  
  
"What's bigger than Gohan?" a curious feminine voice asked. "Who are you talking to, Goten?"  
  
As Goten turned, blushing, to stammer a greeting to Videl, Trunks sat on the other side of the holograph, overwhelmed at the sensations coursing through his mind. It's the same thing I felt on the ship, but not as strong. I wonder ... I wonder where 'tousan is ...  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Theo opened her eyes to see a huge dust cloud hanging in front of her tingling hands - hands that were still braced in front of her body and in position to stop whatever was coming at her, scant traces of multihued power wafting over her fingers.  
  
As the dust and sand settled, she was dumbfounded to see that everything in a hundred meter radius in front of her had been flattened; vegetation, people, buildings - everything was leveled. As she watched, people picked themselves up from the sand and dusted themselves off as they looked around fearfully, awaiting some other type of unexpected blast to hurl them to the ground again.   
  
Kami, what did I do? What happened? Squinting over her fingertips, she saw large cliffs in the distance - and there seemed to be some type of dust cloud over there, too. Sudden comprehension dawned, and an insane urge to giggle almost overcame her - an image of Sterbol with his eyes wide and staring in shock flashed in her mind. Sterbol, the Cronch who was intentionally going to violate her, hurled through the air with his arms and legs flung wide and his crest twitching uncontrollably. A feeling of smug satisfaction expanded in her chest - there, you low-life scum, did you like that? Was that fun?  
  
"Theo! Theo! Stop congratulating yourself and let's get moving!"  
  
Allyssa's voice cut through Theo's thoughts like a cold bucket of water, bringing her back to reality. Turning, she saw both the Gant and the spacer gesturing to her as they fled in the opposite direction, into the heart of the encampment.  
  
"All right, all right - wait for me! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Theo called, irritable and more than a little anxious at being left alone as she slung a last look at the small dust plume in the distance. Kami, I hope I can find my shoes in this mess, she thought to herself as she rushed after the retreating backs of her companions, her aching head paling in comparison to her bruised and battered feet.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
She had been running for several minutes which felt like hours when her eyes spotted something familiar shining in the morning sun.  
  
"Look, Allyssa, look - our stuff could be over there!" Theo exclaimed, panting, pointing toward one of two small buildings left standing in the camp. It had been behind and to Theo's right when she called the power to push the Cronch into a nearby mountain, and was still upright only by the most random acts of chance.   
  
Jerking her head in the direction of the building, Allyssa motioned to Dron to follow her and run toward the building. He immediately saw what she was doing and fell in behind her without a word. Words, to both the Gant and the spacer, were wastes of precious time and energy - if something could be done with an economical gesture, so much the better. Words wasted oxygen, and the less oxygen one had, the slower one moved - which, in their current condition, was not good at all.  
  
Theo hurried behind them; she was winded and couldn't move as quickly as they could. Also, she had found that her lack of shoes was something she could not tolerate one moment longer - her feet felt as though they were walking on a bed of sharp quills whenever she took a step, and the pain in her head was now matching it beat for beat. Her headache had started to subside before she met Allyssa, but after the Cronch were flung into the mountainside, it came back with a vengeance.   
  
Theo's gaze scoured the ground near the little hut, hope and fear churning her stomach. I can only pray that it's here, she thought, weariness seeping through her body, and that those stupid creatures didn't break it into little pieces or eat it.   
  
As she drew closer to the building, she saw Allyssa and Dron stop at the door, fling it open and run though, Dron's small laser drawn and ready.  
  
A crow of triumph floated out from the building: "Theo, it's here, I've got it!"  
  
"Coming!" Theo yelled, pushing herself to move just a little faster. She covered the ground between her and the building as fast as she could, and almost bumped into Allyssa as she dashed out the door, her left hand clutching a dark, rectangular object.  
  
"We are getting the hell out of here now," the warrior woman said, her dust streaked face grinning in victory. "We're not waiting for Elyse to find us - we're calling her back."  
  
"Oh, thank Kami it's in one piece," Theo gasped, taking the remote control from Allyssa's hand. "I was afraid those brutes had smashed it - and if that had happened, we'd really be in trouble."   
  
She turned it over and peered at it for a few seconds, wiped the large smudges of dirt and grime from its housing and display window, then rapidly punched out the recall code for her TARDIS and hit "send." The Guardian's gaze was glued on the small device as she watched the data scroll across the screen.  
  
"Well?" Allyssa asked, staring over Theo's shoulder. "When's she going to get here?"  
  
Theo swallowed, her mouth suddenly as dry and parched as the landscape around her. "I ... I have to try it again," she muttered, and punched her code into the small machine vigorously. A small, blinking red light appeared next to the display as lines of text quickly scrolled down.   
  
Theo's eyes grew enormous as she clutched the remote in shaking hands, her face suddenly rigid. "What do you MEAN, 'I'll be right back' ?" she screamed at the mechanism. "You CAN'T be 'right back' - you CAN'T take the TARDIS off recall, you just can't! Damn it, Elyse, you had damn well BETTER be right back-"   
  
"What's wrong?" Dron asked. His voice was even and calm, but he was shaking his gray head in resignation as if he already knew what Theo would say.  
  
Raising anguished eyes to meet Allyssa's, it took Theo several long moments to compose herself enough to push a response past cold lips. "She's not there. She took the TARDIS off recall. We - we have to wait until she turns the recall circuit back on."  
  
Allyssa just looked at Theo and nodded, saying nothing. The silence stretched between them as Theo tore her gaze away from her friend and stared at the distant cliffs.  
  
"I found my guns and ammo," Dron said, breaking the silence between the women. They both looked at him as he strapped his large laser on his leg, stowing various other small guns and power packs in the pockets and sleeves of his stained jumpsuit, a grim expression on his weathered face. His eyes flickered up to Theo's briefly, then sought out Allyssa.   
  
"Good - it looks like we'll need them," Allyssa said heavily. Staring down at Theo, she said, "You'd better find some shoes, Theo. We have to leave - now."  
  
Nodding dully, Theo walked into the small hut and came out several moments later, her own soft boots on her feet. She scanned the dawn sky again, swallowed and pointed. "Look," she said, a distraught edge to her voice.  
  
Allyssa squinted at the horizon and nodded as she turned toward the edge of the encampment. "I know, I know. Come on - our only hope is to try to make it to the city. We might get lucky."  
  
"And then again, maybe not," Theo muttered, punching her access code repeatedly on the remote keyboard as the companions abandoned the encampment and fled into the desert, toward Port City 4.   
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The dark cloud that had hung over the horizon pulled closer to the Cronch's desert site. As it neared the encampment, it was clear that the cloud was not a natural phenomenon - in fact, it was comprised of many large, angry, broken and bleeding Cronch, all armed and ready for battle, following one of their own with a single-minded fury.  
  
They were going to take revenge on the being that had so thoroughly decimated their ranks and so completely humiliated their leader, and through him, every Cronch in the battle group.  
  
They were going to capture the telepath and her companions.  
  
Sterbol's fury was burning through his blood; it took every ounce of self control not to rocket ahead of his battle group and grind that woman into the ground, but he forced himself to react calmly, as a leader.   
  
A number of the battle group had not survived the impact against the cliffs; they had been crushed to death by the force of the other Cronch smashing them into the unyielding rock of the bluffs. Sterbol had trembled with rage as he watched the bodies of his men drop to the ground like swatted flies.  
  
"There she is - that's the one!" he bellowed, pointing at Theo, running flat out through the desert about a quarter kilometer in front of him. "I want her brought to me alive and unharmed. Now go!"  
  
Snarling, the Cronch descended on the little party, hunters after their escaping prey.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Look, Vejiita, look - what's happened there?"  
  
"How should I know, idiot? I've never been here before," the prince snapped, looking at the scene below him, disguising his surprise behind a mask of weary irritability.  
  
The stench from the desert battle rose in their nostrils, assailing them from all sides. The dead and dying spread out below them in every direction; one part of what appeared to be an encampment was flattened to the ground. Very few creatures were stirring, and those that were tried to crawl into the shade, to shelter themselves from the merciless rising sun.  
  
Someone knew what they were doing, Vejiita thought in grudging approval, scanning the desert floor. Hardly any survivors.  
  
"It looks like there was a war here," Gohan said, shaking his head in disbelief, covering his nose and mouth with his hand.  
  
"Some creatures are alive down there, but not many," Piccolo said, closing his eyes and concentrating on the spectacle below them. His eyes flew opened and narrowed as he turned toward the east. "There's a large body of something in that direction - and whatever it is seems to be chasing someone else on the ground."  
  
"I see them, Piccolo!" Gokuu called, peering in the direction the Namek indicated. "That group in the sky is really big - and there are only a few people on the ground, and they're - hey, Vejiita, do you feel that?"  
  
"Do I feel what, baka?" the prince snarled in irritation. "What am I supposed to-"  
  
And then he did feel something, something that was exotic and familiar at the same time - a chi that brushed his own, one that was reaching out for any and all help it could command, begging for power from any source at all, fearful and needy and proud. He was astonished; he hung in the air, gaping in stunned surprise.  
  
Help us - give me power to push them away again - anyone, anywhere, give me the power,  
I can't get to my own, please give me what you have -   
  
Squinting into the east, he saw them - three people at bay in front of a large rock cairn, one male and two females, making what would probably be their last stand against the crowd of creatures in the air above them.  
  
And the power signature he sought - that energy that had tormented him for what seemed like weeks - surrounded the three people like a bright blanket, radiating its potential across the desert to him, beckoning him closer.  
  
"Kakarotto," he snapped, "follow me over there. I want you to stay near those people on the ground - don't let them run away, do you hear me? Take those other two with you, too, just in case." Vejiita jerked his head toward Piccolo and Gohan then turned back to the tableau on the ground, his muscles tensing for battle.  
  
"Sure, Vejiita," Gokuu said, catching a hint of excitement from the other Saiyan, watching his eyes glitter in anticipation. "What are we going to do?"  
  
The smaller Saiyan turned toward Gokuu with a feral grin, his eyes blazing. "What do you think? We're going to find the creature we've been seeing, baka - and we're going to have a little fun in the bargain."  
  
And with that, the prince smirked, turned and flew toward the horde of angry, armed Cronch, never taking his eyes from the people on the ground.   
  
Heh. Now you're mine ...  
  
Gokuu, Gohan and Piccolo darted after him, flashing through the sky.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Roll, you idiot! Roll! Do it now!"  
  
Theo's world had narrowed to agonizingly small dimensions - she had given up thinking long ago and was simply reacting, her breath wheezing in and out of her lungs as her legs churned automatically through the sand, making her way through a haze of horrible fatigue and pain. Only Allyssa and Dron existed - Allyssa screaming instructions at her, while the latter ran, dodged and fired sweeping laser shots at their pursuers, shouting at her as well.   
  
"Keep your head down, Theo!" Dron barked, sending several laser blasts sizzling past her ear. "Now roll, dammit, roll to the left!"  
  
The Cronch had dropped out of the sky and pounced on them like the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz, snatching and snarling at all of them, but obviously targeting Theo.  
  
Obediently Theo dived and rolled on her left shoulder, twisting away from the falling bodies of the Cronch that dropped from the sky as if they were filled with lead. She was on her feet in an instant, but shuffled forward, dazed and gasping.   
  
"Move it, Theo, move, move, move, move!"  
  
Allyssa had turned and skidded to a halt the moment she saw Dron drop the Cronch out of the sky, then ran back to pull Theo to her feet. The warrior woman had snagged a blaster from a dead Cronch and was using it with lethal accuracy, clearing a healthy perimeter around the Guardian. No one would even dare approach while Allyssa was near Theo.  
  
"There's cover over there!" Dron yelled, jerking his head in the general direction of Port City 4. The city itself was hidden behind an early morning haze that hung over the desert like a shroud.  
  
"We're moving!" Allyssa yelled back, acknowledging him. She roughly grabbed Theo's upper arm and shouted in her face, "Let's go - unless you want to go with that Cronch guy again - ?"  
  
Wheezing, her lungs crying for air, all Theo could do was shake her head emphatically in denial.  
  
"All right, then -move it! Your boyfriend's almost here." Allyssa yanked hard on Theo's arm as she plunged ahead, dodging fountains of sand that suddenly shot up from the desert floor, skipping over rocks and cactus with equal ease. Theo stumbled badly several times, dragging Allyssa off balance; but the taller woman threw her weight forward and pulled, dragging Theo back onto her feet and through some extremely harsh.  
  
They were so intent on staying upright that they nearly stumbled headlong into a huge rock cairn, something that had been obscured by the strange morning mist hanging over parts of the wasteland. It rose in front of them and spread to the side, meters tall and wide, a monument growing out of the ground, surrounded by cactus. Panting in relief, Allyssa managed to push out, "Good. We should be able -"  
  
"Nothing - there," croaked Theo, staring at the rock as Allyssa dragged her closer.  
  
"What?"  
  
Theo took several deep, gasping breaths and pointed at the rock, her fingers spread. "No - openings," she wheezed, "-anywhere - can't get in - "  
  
"Dron?" Allyssa yelled, her eyes wide with alarm.  
  
"I'm on it!" he bellowed in response, angling his gun at the back of the mount. "Stand back!"  
  
Dron spit laser fire at the rock, carving deep crevices into the face and sides of the stone slabs, his lips drawn back in a grimace of concentration, one small hand supporting the other as he hewed  
  
Theo and Allyssa stumbled against the front of the rock and immediately flipped so that their backs were against the stone, taking a defensive stand. Cronch were bearing down on them from the air, led by a snarling, jubilant Sterbol, looking as fierce as rabid hounds.  
  
"Somebody do something, and do it fast!" Allyssa hollered to both Theo and Dron, thumbing her blaster setting as she fired at the advancing Cronch. "I'm nearly out of power!"  
  
Theo madly punched at the remote as her gaze remained locked on the sky, not noticing the green light that flashed after she send her recall code the last time.  
  
"...almost finished!" Dron yelled from behind them, then suddenly howled in alarm. Other Cronch had been able to circle around him and had engaged him again. He leaped to the front of the rock cairn and stood next to Theo, breathing hard, his back pressed to the stone, his gray hair standing on end as he pumped laser fire at the Cronch. "We're in BIG trouble! Can't you do something?"  
  
Theo stared at Sterbol in panic and threw a large mental probe directly at his mind - no time for finesse now - but was repulsed by the same frustrating barrier that had initially thwarted her attack.   
  
Sterbol stopped where he was, held up his hand to stop his soldiers, and laughed. His face was a burlesque of pleasantness - his eyes glittered, a sardonic smile played about his mouth, and he laughed again, mirthlessly.  
  
"The middle one, gentlemen," he grated out, staring and pointing directly at Theo. "I want the middle one alive and unharmed, do you hear me? She's a very valuable little psi generator ... and she's all I've got now, since she allowed the rest of my property to escape and killed most of your comrades!" The expression on his face had changed in an instant, from genial greediness to enraged hideousness, causing Theo to press her back against the rock and catch her breath in fear. "I'll figure out a better way to control you, bitch, but right now I'm going to beat you within an inch of your fucking life!" And he and his men charged forward, straight at them.  
  
Aw, jeez, Ally -   
  
Theo tried one last time, tried to recreate the feeling she had when the creative fireball burst from her hands, where fear and rage and hopelessness had coalesced and leaped from her fingers - but she failed. At the last instant, she flung herself over to the side and into the sand at her feet, praying that maybe the Cronch's momentum would drive him headfirst into the rocks and give her a small chance to escape ... that's all they needed, just that small opportunity ... She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact-  
  
- which never came.   
  
Theo picked her face up from the dirt and squinted up at the sky, noting absently that Allyssa had opted to do the same thing on the opposite side. Dron, however, was standing as straight as a ramrod against the rocks, a strange, feral expression on his face as he gazed into the sky.  
  
Theo followed his gaze and was totally flabbergasted at the sight in front of her.  
  
What - who - is that? she thought in confusion, staggering to her feet, looking where she thought the Cronch should be. Instead, she saw the outline of a man with hair that stood straight up from the top of his head; he was floating in midair, his arms extended, fists up, exactly where Sterbol had been, and was surrounded with pulsing, swirling blue energy himself.   
  
He - he saved us! she wondered. What - ? The wind shifted, and unexpectedly; a wave of power and scent from the man hit her full force in the face. She gasped and struggled for breath, sagging back against the rock, her eyes streaming and almost popping out of her head.   
  
Gasping and choking, Theo continued to stare into the sky as her precise and orderly mind cataloged and identified the smell and power signature for her, almost without her volition.  
  
He's a .... he's a ... he's a ...  
  
Involuntarily her head shook from side to side and her breath whistled out of her chest as her unconscious mind supplied the missing word -  
  
...Saiyan.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  



	13. ...surprise...

Time Warriors Chapter 13   
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^   
  
There were many times when it appeared to outsiders as if Theo's life was charmed, that luck was always on her side.   
  
At a very young age, her innate coercive talent allowed Theo to surreptitiously dip into other Guardians' minds and remove any unpleasant or unflattering memory of her they may have had; therefore, she was able to get away with much more than the average young Guardian. On a deeper level, she knew it was wrong to meddle with other people's thoughts - but, being young and brash, had decided that because ultimately no one was hurt by her meddling, she didn't need to admit her fault to anyone. So she didn't - she simply resolved never to repeat it.   
  
Her acceptance into the Time Lord's Prydonian Academy as one of the few non-Time Lords permitted to study, build and operate various TARDIS machines, was unprecedented - and, many thought, due in part to that strange coercive talent of hers. Theo had nothing to say on the matter, but left Gallifrey shortly after receiving her degree in temporal displacement engineering, supposedly in the company of a disillusioned Time Lord. She reappeared on Homeworld many years later, sans Time Lord, with her daughter in tow, and much more subdued than when she left.   
  
And now many of the surviving Guardians believed that she and Beryan had been born under a lucky star - the way they had engineered and built their TARDIS on Vejiitasei, under the very noses of their Saiyan captors, had been nothing less than spectacular. Those same people neglected to add that Beryan had died horribly at the hands of the Saiyans and that Theo had been permanently scarred, mentally if not physically.   
  
Luck, in Theo's life, had always been a two edged sword - and this time, luck was presenting Theo with the sharp edge of the blade.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*   
  
...Saiyan.   
  
The shock was enormous; Theo felt as if time had scooped her off her feet and flung her, alone and gasping, into the middle of a temporal vortex to ponder her situation. As the world flashed in front of her eyes she felt emotionally numb, shaken to her core - thirty-five years of her life had just crumbled to dust, years that she had carefully built as a protective shell around her torn, damaged psyche, years that had allowed her to deny one of the greatest horrors of her life.   
  
...gods, no ... this can't be happening ...   
  
She watched Allyssa clamber to her feet, clawing at handholds in the rock. The Gant's dark hair, once neatly caught behind her neck in a bun now straggled wildly around her face; sand clung to her cheeks and forehead, and small trickles of blood snaked down the sides of her face, dripping across her scar and onto her neck.   
  
"We're not dead," she mumbled, spitting sand out between her teeth, green eyes blinking in vague surprise. She awkwardly groped around her belt for a weapon - any weapon - her eyes roving from side to side, assessing their situation.   
  
"It's because of him - that guy took their charge head-on, as if it was nothing, and then shot something at them," Dron rasped from Theo's other side. His back was pressed against the rocks and his gaze was riveted to the figure in the sky as his hands automatically searched through his pockets for spare energy packs. Tucking the blaster under one arm, he continued, "They all were bounced away from him, too - a lot of them ended up on the ground over there," nodding in the general direction of the camp. As he spoke, his eyes scanned the terrain in front of them before returning to the sky, his hands slapping energy packs into side and bottom compartments of the weapon. "I don't know what he is, but he sure isn't human." Dron clutched the muzzle of the gun and slapped his arm across Theo, ignoring her completely, to thrust the fully recharged blaster into Allyssa's hands.   
  
"Damn nice of him to give us a breather," Allyssa responded as she accepted the gun, cradling it in both hands. She tested its balance by aiming it at the targets above them, deliberately turning her back on Theo and stepping in front of her, the Guardian's protector once again. Dron yanked his arm back and dipped his hand into his voluminous pockets, searching for more power packs with his right hand while his left hand magically produced another large blaster, shielding the left side of Theo's body with his own.   
  
"Who in hell do you think you are and what in hell do you think you're doing? Get out of my way!" thundered a hoarse voice from the battlefield.   
  
Theo shrank back against the rocks, flanked on either side by Dron and Allyssa, grateful for their protection. A small part of her rebelled at such cowardice, but was quickly squelched when she glanced into the sky.   
  
... a Saiyan ... they were all supposed to be dead ... all except ...   
  
Her mind refused to go any farther, shying away from the obvious truth as she shifted her gaze toward the furious Cronch drifting in front of the stranger defending them.   
  
Sterbol was still alive. He had been thrown to the ground by the intensity of Vejiita's short power burst, but had recovered and was hovering several meters from the muscular Saiyan. About thirty Cronch survivors hung in the air behind him as he snarled his challenge, his crest fully extended and his eyes narrowed in anger.   
  
Some of his warriors were trying to help the wounded Cronch on the ground; some were groaning and staggering to their feet as if drunk, while others simply lay where they landed, unmoving, fixed eyes staring up at the morning sky. Sterbol's rage grew as he looked at his fallen warriors and then at the smirking, dark haired man floating in the air in front of him.   
  
"I don't know who you think you are, fool, but you're now a dead man!" Sterbol growled menacingly, the veins in his neck threatening to burst as his muscles bunched, his body armor gleaming in the slanting sunlight. He looked every inch the enraged and vengeful mercenary leader as he gathered himself to leap at Vejiita in righteous indignation, drawing his blaster to fire.   
  
Vejiita laughed, a harsh, grating sound as he regarded the Cronch leader with a wolfish smirk, his arms folded across his chest. "How pathetic," he sneered, keeping his arms crossed and curling his lip in disdain. "Did those three weaklings do all this damage to your men with mere human weapons? - two females and a male, none of whom can fly? If so, then you deserve it - you are the most pathetic group of cowards I have ever seen!"   
  
Stupid Saiyan bravado, Theo thought, unbidden disdain coloring her mind as she watched the exchange. It just never changes, does it?   
  
"Not that it's any of your business, dead man," Sterbol snapped, any vestiges of civility that cloaked his manner burned away by Vejiita's taunting jibes, "but one of those 'weaklings' you've just turned your back on is a fierce little psychic warrior. Pretty dangerous, too. It would be a shame if she fried your puny brain from the inside out before I had a chance to kill you."   
  
Theo's mouth went dry at Sterbol's words and she tried to make herself an even smaller target behind Dron and Allyssa.   
  
A psychic warrior? His curiosity roused, Vejitta glanced again at the three people at bay against the rocks, his eyes sweeping over the women's figures. There was something familiar about the set of the smaller one's shoulders, the tilt of her head - but the larger one was defending her, so it was impossible to tell for sure.   
  
"No one can take over my mind, you craven coward," Vejiita retorted, coolly assessing the impact his words had on his opponent. "It's been tried before, and it failed miserably - just as you and your pathetic little weasels will fail to defeat me!" His grin became wider as he saw the furious set of the other man's jaw and the telltale signs of uncontrollable rage.   
  
Theo's breath froze in her chest as yet another wave of power washed over her and a strong mental presence whispered in her mind, a presence that echoed down passages left unused for decades, one that was unaware of any connection with Theo.   
  
Heh. Stupid weaklings - should be good for a little sport, though - especially this big one. Then we'll see about the psychic ...   
  
The words rang in her mind as his voice caressed her synapses, bringing long dormant connections back to quivering life.   
  
Theo stood against the rock, staring blindly into the air, her entire body suddenly gone rigid.   
  
It was him.   
  
Physical characteristics changed for all creatures as they matured, but mental signatures were constants- age normally made no difference. All the blood drained from her face as her gaze locked on the figure in the sky. Her eyes appeared to change color continuously - from green to blue to violet and back again - and she grasped for Allyssa's arm, flailing hers as if she was drowning.   
  
A chorus of whispered voices laughed mockingly in her head. Heh - your master's come for you, hasn't he? Just as we said, just as we said. We were right, we were right, we were right, right, right ...   
  
"Theo - Theo! What's wrong with you?" Allyssa whispered urgently. Theo's weight against her arm was dragging her off balance, pulling her down toward the rock and the hard packed ground. She tugged back, pulling Theo upright as she opened her mouth to say something else - but one look at her friend's stricken face told her that something was terribly wrong. She followed Theo's skyward gaze, frowning, then turned her head back to stare at Theo, who was cringing behind Dron, her large eyes growing wider by the moment, small hissing sounds coming from between her teeth.   
  
"Oh my god ... oh my god ... I've got to get out of here, Ally .... I have to leave now," she stammered, pushing the words beyond her teeth with a visible effort, closing every port to her mind, sliding smooth mental walls in place. Knowing that the effort was futile.   
  
He's come for you, he's come for you cackled in her mind as fear spread its icy fingers into her veins, turning her gut into a cold, hard knot of panic. She clutched the forgotten remote in her hands so hard that the tips of her fingers had turned white with the effort.   
  
"You know him?" Allyssa rasped in an undertone, her blaster trained on the figure in the sky as she twisted her neck around to see Theo's face. "Who is he?"   
  
Theo's face was as white as the sand under their feet. She swallowed before answering, choking on the words. "He's ... he's ... he's a Saiyan. The Saiyan prince. The one that-" and she broke off, sweat glistening on her forehead.   
"Saiyan?" Allyssa said sharply. "You mean -"   
  
Theo shrank further into the wall, wishing it would swallow her whole, her brain overloaded with sensations and memories and her frantic efforts to keep this discovery private, localized in one section of her mind. I can hear him, she thought in terror, and if I can hear him, I know he could hear me if I shouted ...   
  
A distinctive wheezing sound broke across the general hubbub and angry buzz of the Cronch, its persistent, scratching hum carrying straight to Allyssa's and Theo's ears. Their heads whipped across in the direction of the sound, and as one they breathed the word of the object that would save them -   
  
"-the TARDIS," Theo and Allyssa whispered in unison.   
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*   
  
A beat passed as both women stared past Dron, out to the desert where a very large boulder had appeared out of the blue, wheezing into existence as it materialized in the morning light. An eager, pleading expression leapt across Theo's face as she grabbed Allyssa's upper arm, pulling her back. Allyssa stared down at her charge in mute understanding and gave a slight nod, her green eyes sharp and cold in the gloom.   
  
"It's now or never," Allyssa said flatly, pulling away from Theo's grasp and pushing her behind Dron. "Give me a few seconds to draw their fire, and then you start running. Do you have your key?"   
  
Theo nodded, sticking her hand in her pants pocket and pulling out a small silver key attached to a very long keychain. There was a tiny, faceted cube bouncing next to the key, its faces reflecting small rainbows of sunlight into Theo's palm.   
  
"Good," Allyssa hissed. "You'll know when to run - and when you do, don't stop for anything. Anything at all - do you hear me? Dron and I will catch up with you when we can." She nudged the spacer in the ribs and jerked her head toward the sky. As he shifted his weight to his heels, bracing himself and bringing his weapon to bear, Allyssa glanced at Theo and said, "Just make sure you have the door open when we need to get in, ne?"   
  
Theo nodded, her eyes wide and scared, clutching her key in suddenly moist palms.   
  
With that, Allyssa turned her back on her friend again and shouted in a voice loud enough to carry across the sand to Port City 4, "Hey! Asshole Cronch! Yeah, you up there! Why don't you get your butt ugly face down here and fight? Whassa matter, too afraid of us puny humans to get up close and personal?" She moved diagonally away from the rock cairn with deliberate grace, heading southwest, drawing attention away from that section of the desert.   
  
Vejiita turned from the Cronch and looked down at the woman with fresh interest, ignoring the threat in front of him. What's she doing? he wondered, narrowing his eyes in thought.   
  
"You insult me, human!" Sterbol roared, completely incensed by her insolent attitude and Vejiita's apparent unconcern at his display. "I'll be happy to give you what you're so desperately seeking!"   
  
Had to have a death wish, didn't you? I should've known, Dron groaned to himself as he covered her movements, slowly making his way behind her, his blaster gripped in white-knuckled hands.   
  
Every fighter's attention was now on Allyssa's taunting figure, trotting across the sand and rudely gesturing toward the men in the sky.   
  
"Then come and give it to me, asshole - let's see if what you've got is as big as you think it is!"   
  
Sterbol's men roared at the implied insult and, as one, charged forward, eager to destroy to the contemptuous Gant.   
Now, thought Theo, thoroughly panicked. She dashed off to the left, running flat out toward the northeast, sand churning under her feet, her eyes focused on the large boulder not one hundred meters away from her.   
  
"Hey, don't run away! We'll protect you!"   
  
A black haired man, tall and broad shouldered with large, earnest eyes suddenly sprang from the back of the rock cairn on her left side, gesturing at her to stop. She shrieked in terror and dodged, narrowly missing another tall man - but this one was completely green, bald, and had small, evil looking antennas stuck on the top of his head.   
  
"No!" Theo screamed. "Get away from me!"   
  
"Wait - wait - we want to help you!" the black haired man shouted, diving at Theo again. "Don't run away!"   
  
Theo ducked and rolled on her shoulder, using the same move that Allyssa and Dron had screamed at her to use only minutes earlier when they were escaping the Cronch. The man overshot his mark and went flying over her head, crashing into the desert floor with a solid *humph.*   
  
Theo stumbled to her feet and sped on, feeling something familiar tug at her mind, demanding entry. Gods, no, no, no, she thought, desperate, pushing against the intrusion. If he gets inside, I'm done for ...   
  
"Kakarotto, you brainless fool, you're supposed to STOP that woman, not play games with her!" an angry Vejiita shouted at the hapless Saiyan. "I want all of them together, and I'm dealing with something else right now. Do I have to do everything myself?"   
  
"Oh - sorry, Vejiita," Gokuu called back, picking himself up from the sand and dusting himself off. "I'll get her. But I think she's just scared, and that's why she's running."   
  
"Of COURSE she's scared, you moron- just GET her!"   
  
Almost there, Theo panted, just a little more to go ...   
  
And she would have made it to her TARDIS if it hadn't been for her own daughter. Without warning, part of the boulder swung in and a tousled red head popped out of the opening. The young woman peered in front of her, then bodily stepped into the desert, appearing to have just sprung from the depths of the boulder. Her small, slim figure, clad in a comfortable beige tunic and pants, was overshadowed by her bright red hair.   
  
"No! Elyse, no!" Theo screamed, waving her arms over her head in warning. "Get back inside!"   
  
"Mama - mama, there you are!" the woman said, turning to face Theo. "Why don't you-" Instantly her face registered shock and horror as she saw Gokuu and Piccolo in hot pursuit of her mother - and her mother was charging at the TARDIS with everything she had, the whites of her eyes showing. "Mama!" she screeched, her voice carrying across the sand to everyone within earshot. "Mama, hurry up, hurry up, they nearly have you!" Now threatening, Elyse crouched down low and held her hands in front of her in a defensive position. "Get away from her, you beasts! Leave her alone!"   
  
"Mama?" Sterbol repeated, swinging his head in the direction of Elyse's cries. His eyes widened in sudden recognition as he watched Theo speed across the desert, followed by some other strange people, toward what appeared to be a rock - and quite a rock it was, one that had apparently hidden someone quite well. And that someone was a beauty - red hair, wide eyes, a strong-looking body like her mother - which meant that ...   
  
...that she's psychic, too, he reasoned. What if I captured both of them ... what a price they'd bring! - I know exactly who'd want them... And instantly making up his mind, greed and avarice outweighing his common sense, Sterbol made one more decision, one that sealed his fate forever.   
  
He turned from attacking Vejiita and swiftly flew toward Elyse, grinning evilly.   
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^   
  
Theo saw the Cronch swing around in the air and arrow toward her daughter, realizing what he intended to do and that he would get to Elyse moments before she would. And then he would have her completely. Elyse wasn't an experienced fighter, and if Theo in her weakened condition had been unable to penetrate Sterbol's defenses, she knew that Elyse would not be able to break through, either.   
  
Which meant that the Cronch would do to her what he intended to do to Theo.   
  
"Wait - stop - please stop, I'm not going to hurt you!"   
  
Theo's aching legs were swept off the ground as a strong arm snagged her around the waist and pulled her up into the sky. Gasping in shock, Theo twisted around to see a pair of earnest, black eyes staring at her from a mop of unruly, black hair. Waves of power broke over her head and body as every nerve and sinew was subjected to the raw energy coming from the man.   
  
Dear Kami, he's Saiyan she thought, gasping, this one's Saiyan, too ...   
  
"Wow ... your eyes are really pretty colors," the warrior continued, peering intently into her face, his childlike tone totally at odds with his physical presence. "My name's Gokuu. What's yours?"   
  
Theo gaped blankly at the Saiyan, not quite believing what she heard. What?   
  
Shoving her fear aside for her daughter's sake, Theo ignored Gokuu completely and twisted in his arms to see Elyse. What she saw was Sterbol, almost on top of Elyse with several other Cronch trailing behind him, a smirk of triumph on his face. He looked over at her, grinned and shouted, "Thanks very much - she's all mine now, bitch! And there's nothing you can do about it, is there?"   
  
Gokuu looked from Theo's stricken face to Elyse, his eyes narrowing in anger as he saw the Cronch descend on the helpless woman.   
  
The back of her head itched horribly, as though a thousand small gnats had suddenly attached themselves and attacked all at once, inside and outside her skull. The pressure was horrendous - something was trying to claw and push its way in and out of her mind.   
  
"No! Leave her alone! Elyse!" she screamed, forgetting her own pain and pulling at the steel band wrapped around her waist, trying to spin out of Gokuu's grip. "Ely-"   
  
Without warning, reality blurred and shifted in front of her; she was suddenly freezing and caught for what felt like long moments in a black world that was in-between, one that was dark and terrifying, one that took her breath away.   
As suddenly as the darkness fell, though, it lifted; colors blurred in front of her eyes again and she found herself less than a meter away from Sterbol, staring at the body armor that wrapped around his waist. Her arms and legs were dangling helplessly; she was slung under the Saiyan's arm, stuck on top of his hip, and he was several meters above the ground.. She opened her mouth to scream, but was cut short by the Saiyan's heavy, commanding voice.   
  
"Leave that girl alone!"   
  
Theo was dumbfounded. Gone was her captor's hesitant, questioning manner; instead, Theo saw a confident, angry Saiyan warrior, the heel of his right hand stuck in the middle of the Cronch's chest armor, long cracks fanning across Sterbol's chest plate. Righteous indignation and rage drew Gokuu's mouth into a tight, controlled line; his gaze was piercing, holding the Cronch in place with its intensity, while his body radiated waves of power.   
  
Sterbol was completely flabbergasted; no one had ever been able to stop his charge, especially when he had powered up. And this man had simply appeared in front of him, faster than his eye could follow, held firm while he smashed into his extended hand, and commanded him to - what? Leave the young one alone? Glancing at the bundle under the Saiyan's arm, Sterbol smirked again and shook his head.   
  
"So that's how it is, eh? You want them both?" His mouth stretched in the parody of a smile, leering at Gokuu. "They'd certainly sell better as a matched set, but - no. You keep that one - I'll take the young one."   
  
"Sell?" Theo gasped, horrified. Sell? As slaves?   
  
"Maaa-maaaaaaaa!" Elyse shrieked, panicked.   
  
Theo swung her head around as far as she could, straining away from Gokuu to see what was happening behind her. Several Cronch fighters, ones who had originally flown next to Sterbol and had neatly avoided Gokuu, now surrounded Elyse. The young Guardian was standing in front of the huge boulder, her eyes enormous in her face, slowly turning in place as she stared up at her attackers, apparently in a state of shock.   
  
"Elyse!" she cried, anguished, flailing her arms and legs in a vain effort to get away from Gokuu. "P - put me down, you great oaf, put me down!"   
  
"I can't- not now, it's not safe," Gokuu said, ignoring Theo's wriggling. He shoved Sterbol away from him and kept one hand, palm out, facing the alien. An ominous glow surrounded that hand. "I'm giving you fair warning - back off and leave these women alone."   
  
Theo immediately recognized the gathering of chi in Gokuu's hand and flinched away, memories of other such demonstrations on Vejiitasei flashing through her head. He's - he's going to vaporize this Cronch right in front of me, she thought, stunned. And that moron has no idea what's going to happen.   
  
Another shriek sounded from Elyse, cutting across the battlefield, but this one was cut off in mid-cry, replaced by an unfamiliar masculine voice snarling, "Touch this woman and you will all die."   
  
"Huh? Who is that?" Theo twisted her neck again to look back at Elyse, and glimpsed yet another male figure near her daughter - but this one appeared to be defending her from the airborne Cronch instead of attacking her. He was hovering directly in front of Elyse, shielding her from any stray blaster shots as waves of power slid from him and across the desert, his lavender hair waving gently in the air, a large sword shining in front of him.   
  
Her carefully wrought defenses against the impossibilities of the universe were being ground to a fine powder. This one's Saiyan, too, she realized, sagging in Gokuu's arm in despair, feeling her tenuous grip on her sanity loosen. How ... how many of them ARE there...?   
  
"Prepare to die, you fool - you had your chance!" thundered Sterbol as he swung his blaster up and fired, point blank, at Gokuu's face, his own a mask of viciousness and savagery.   
  
Theo screamed, covering her face with her hands. This is it ...   
  
...but moments later realized that she was still alive, still dangling from the Saiyan's arm, and still in one piece. In fact, from what she could see, the Saiyan appeared to be in one piece. Cautiously peering up at her captor's face, Theo swallowed in consternation.   
  
Oh, gods, I forgot about this ...   
  
He was all right - but seemed to be actually enjoying this. His eyebrows were drawn together and his eyes were glittering, a mocking smile on his lips. The Saiyan was blocking the Cronch's blaster fire with his outstretched hand; it slid harmlessly around the ki shield he had erected around them, draining into the ground. Theo doubted the Cronch knew this - in fact, she was positive he didn't understand what had just happened when she saw the power pack on his weapon falter and then finally exhaust its energy.   
  
Sterbol lowered his weapon, and if she hadn't been almost out of her mind with fright, Theo would have laughed. From the Cronch's perspective, Gokuu's body had been swathed in reddish gold fire; nothing could have absorbed that much punishment and survived. Now, a comical look of shock and horror crossed his face when he realized that not only was Gokuu unharmed, but that the burly Saiyan had his own weapon in the palm of his hand.   
  
"I warned you," he said simply. "You should've listened to me." And with that, Gokuu flung a huge chi blast straight into Sterbol's face. The Cronch had no chance to react; he could only watch helplessly and curse his luck as he took the blast head on. It flung the Cronch away from the main battle group and pounded him into the ground about half a kilometer away, rendering him unconscious.   
  
Theo stared at the where Sterbol used to be, hanging limply under Gokuu's arm. "You ... you can put me down now," she said hoarsely, her eyes wide.   
  
Gokuu looked down at her. The glittering danger that had been in his eyes was quickly replaced with genuine liking, and his expression softened. "Gee, I'd really like to do that," he said, nodding his head with an earnest smile on his face, "but ... I dunno. I don't think that's a good idea. You'd probably just run away. So I think I'll just keep you right here for now."   
  
"You ... wha... why?" Theo stammered, clutching his arms, her feet making small kicking motions. "I won't run away, I promise ..."   
  
"Nah ... you'd get scared, and then I'd have to catch you again. This is better," he said, nodding to himself. "Besides, I can fly and you can't. This is much better."   
  
"Well - but - okay, then you can at least let me see what's happened to my-" Theo snapped, only to be cut off in mid-sentence by a familiar voice, shouting both mentally and physically:   
  
"Where do you think YOU'RE going, you morons? Stay back before I have to do something you'll regret!"   
  
The company of Cronch who had been powering toward Allyssa and Dron paused momentarily to sneer at the smaller alien floating in front of the people on the ground. "Get out of the way before you get hurt, little man," a large, burly Cronch jeered. "You look too delicate for ALL of us to play with."   
  
Gokuu quickly spun around toward the voice, whipping Theo's head around unmercifully. "Vejiita!" he shouted.   
  
A sudden, brilliant glow surrounded the prince as he screamed, enraged, and pushed his personal chi past its usual threshold. His eyes turned green, his hair became waving, golden spikes, and his chi expanded so incredibly fast that rocks and stones trembled, rising into the air as if they had been commanded to fly. Vejiita, surrounded by a firey, dazzling golden aura and smirking in triumph, lauhged as he balled his hands into fists and held them upright at the dumbfounded, terror-filled flying Cronch.   
  
"What the hell did he just do?" Dron whispered to Allyssa as they watched the platinum blaze burn around him.   
Allyssa simply stood next to Dron and shook her head, speechless.   
  
"There he goes again," Gokuu said, shaking his head as he watched Vejiita's enormous power display.   
  
Theo watched Vejiita from her vantage point under Gokuu's arm, feeling as though she was drowning in pure Saiyan power. His chi flowed around her body and through her mind, solidifying the one-way mental link between them, the heat from his chi ripping through her psyche, insuring that the link was fully open and operational.   
  
Bits and pieces of old an memory surfaced, a conversation between Theo, her mother and Stranna, talking about the Saiyan's actual power potential.   
  
"Don't be a fool, Theo," her mother had said sharply. "Several of these people have enough power running around in their veins to properly run the entire capital city for weeks on end."   
  
"Yes, but it's nothing like ours," Theo had pouted in response. "We have to be their slaves, yet we're their superiors in every way possible!"   
  
"Apparently not," Stranna had said, giving Theo a sharp look. "If that were the case, we wouldn't be here, now, would we?"   
  
"At any rate," Yisador said, breaking in on yet another argument between her unruly daughter and her pragmatic friend, " - these people have a legend that says one of them will eventually attain a power level never before seen in their race. This power level will make that person so strong that they will be able to rule the universe - or something to that effect."   
  
"Now there's a big surprise," Theo muttered. "A Saiyan with a superiority complex. Who would've thought?"   
"That's not really the point here, Theo," Stranna said, shaking her head. "These people think their savior's already been born, and that universal domination is only years away. That the legendary Super Saiyan of their race will soon rise up and lead them into victorious, bloody battle - and from my perspective, that'd be one nasty trick to play on the rest of the universe."   
  
"Already been born? Heh," Theo said, wrinkling her nose. "The last thing we need is these things breeding any others of their kind."   
  
"Are you listening at all, Theo? This is the Super Saiyan - the one who is exponentially stronger than the rest of them put together. How long d'you think you'd last against brute force power like that? Not bloody long, that's for sure. Not unless -"   
  
Involuntarily, Theo's arms started shaking as her mind brought her back to the present; long tremors worked their way down her back as she replayed that memory again and again, forcing her to face the conclusion her unconscious mind had arrived at -   
  
--his people were right. The prince is the legendary Super Saiyan. He will be the death of us all.   
  
Her defenses against the cosmos were broken; her walls had been breached. Reality had pounded a very large hole through her resistance, forcing her acknowledge that the person who had brought her such pain and suffering wasn't dead, and in all probability was the same person who would rule over her, her people, her friends ... forever ...   
  
"NOOO!" she screamed, breaking through the barrier to her wellspring. "I'LL KILL YOU ALL FIRST!"   
  
All of a sudden pure energy poured into Theo's psyche, energy that had been held at bay for many hours, energy for which Theo had an involuntary release. She knew exactly what she was going to do, and she needed to do it quickly.   
  
"What - is - that?" gasped Piccolo, feeling chi spun out and away as if in a tornado, pulling away from him and dragging at his own, threatening to pull it, too, into its vortex -   
  
Vejiita's head snapped around and focused on Gokuu, then on the bundle under his left arm. His lip curled and he reacted out of instinct, throwing his psyche into the maelstrom called by Theo and allowing himself to be snatched into her domain.   
  
Immediately Theo shifted reality for herself -   
  
****shift****   
  
--pushing herself into the minds of every creature on the outskirts of Port City 4, with the exception of Elyse, Dron and Allyssa. No finesse here - Theo didn't care who they were or if they felt what she was doing or not as she simultaneously sifted through their collective psyche to grab the twining, fraying ends of the pieces of their minds they labeled personalities -   
  
I've seen this before, the prince realized as he was swept through the vortex, bobbing in her mind's psychic whirlpool as she called the power -   
  
****shift/snick****   
  
Theo twisted the strands together into one cohesive chain as she leaped to an alternate plane, the plane of the Kaious, a strange place where the secrets of the body and soul were kept -   
  
Vejiita was dumbfounded as he was coughed out of the main power stream and onto the ground. It was an odd place; large, gray cliffs in the distance, and what appeared to be thousands and thousands of small gray disks floating in the sky, each disk with hundreds of thin, fiborus strands floating beneath it. Turning, he saw a red haired woman in a soft blue tunic and pants. She was standing with her back to him, not three meters away, furiously twisting a long, braided chain of bright filaments in her hands.   
  
Instinctively, he knew what she was going to do - and he launched himself at her without hesitation, refusing to think too deeply about his desire to save all these men who called themselves his friends. It was safer that way.   
  
***snick***   
  
--and she screamed, a primal, gut wrenching scream, "You will leave us alone!" With an enormous outburst of wellspring power, Theo leaned forward to pull on the chain, ready to yank their souls from the anchoring disks on the plane, condemning each and every creature whose soulstring she held to death.   
  
"Don't you DARE kill my people!" thundered in her brain, roaring over every synapse and nerve in her body, demanding instant obedience.   
  
In complete shock, Theo stopped pulling and spun around, her essence coming face to face with the mind of the Saiyan prince. He imagined himself every inch the Imperial ruler; his eyes were midnight black as they bored into her, seeing down to the depths of her soul, taking possession of what was his once again.   
  
~Why ... how ... I don't underst-~   
  
~You brought me here, woman. And you will NOT kill anyone under my protection. At all. Do you understand, or shall I make it clearer for you?~   
  
Tears sprang to her eyes. Theo's wellspring power was no match for Vejiita's bullying, just as Theo was no match for the one who held the key to her own freedom in his grasp, and she knew it. Knew it down to the bottom of her soul.   
  
Her hands shaking, she quickly removed the soulstrings for each and every person Vejiita named in her mind and released them to the air, still staring into his eyes.   
  
"Kill the rest of them," he said dispassionately. She swallowed and immediately obeyed, tugging and dragging the strings from the disks as fast as she could.   
  
~I know you, woman. Tell me your name. ~   
  
At that, Theo's mind closed and she dropped off of the plane, back into her own body. Her eyes a deep purple, almost Saiyan black, Theo watched as every Cronch within her line of sight shuddered and dropped to the ground. No matter where they were - in the air or on the earth - they all drew their last breath at the same time and all collapsed. Those in the air became broken bodies on the desert floor; those already on the ground simply collapsed and died where they were. A deep stillness hung over the wasteland; nothing stirred for several minutes from horizon to horizon.   
  
Shaking and panting in reaction, Theo felt something warm and buzzing near her right ear. As she turned her head, a dainty, featherlike touch caressed her cheek; suddenly she was looking at a small creature, no larger than the smallest visible insect, hovering in front of her.   
  
Theo stared at the creature for a moment blankly, then realized what she was looking at. How... why ...   
Goodbye, Guardian. Take care of yourself. I go to seek other psychic creatures - your mind was much too unsettled for me to ever find peace.   
  
~But wait,~ Theo sent desperately, ~I was using you ....~   
  
No more, the creature replied. Your appearance is as you were before. Take care, Guardian. Goodbye.   
  
Several seconds passed as Theo stared, uncomprehending, in front of her. I ... I ... I lost my grifton, she thought, completely numb. No one ever loses a grifton. Why ...?   
  
~Why, indeed,~ said an invading male voice. ~You have a lot of explaining to do.~   
  
Immediately her eyes lifted to meet those of the person floating in front of her; eyes that were black and piercing, dark, fathomless, obsidian eyes, eyes that shocked her to the very core of her being. And they were real.   
  
This was no dream.   
  
She swallowed, her legs still dangling under her ignobly, noting how he was motionless in midair, his muscular body poised to strike.   
  
~You haven't changed, Guardian. Still as cocky and foolhardy as ever.~   
  
Perspiration glistened on her forehead as she stared back at him and whispered, "Ouji ... ouji-sama. What a surprise." 


	14. Conversations

Time Warriors Chapter 14  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Breathe, Theo, breathe - or else you'll die for sure ....  
  
Her mind and will felt as though they had been swept away, leaving her a husked shell, drained and empty. Power that was normally hers to command had hammered through her, breaking through her mind's chemical barriers with an intensity equal in scope to her hysterical fear of the Super Saiyan in front of her. She had bent that power to her will, forced it to throw her to a different level of consciousness, and shaped it so that she could use it to completely annihilate her enemies. Her blood singing with need, she had leaped to that other plain and gathered the threads of her foes' existence together, intending to end all their lives and her own suffering with one sharp pull.  
  
But at the last possible moment, she was defeated. Conquered. Mastered by a man that, while her intellectual inferior, had enough innate cunning and audacity to stop her, unknowingly holding the means of her destruction in his hands. He had commanded, and she had obeyed. Her love of life was too strong - she could not ignore or defy his order and stay whole in body and mind, and she knew it. She had to obey, just as she did thirty-five years ago.  
  
I hate you, ouji-sama. The thirst for vengeance and retaliation raged silently in Theo's soul, buried under a guise of compliance and surrender. Tears of humiliation and defeat glistened at the corner of her eyes as stared at him and vowed, someday - someday very soon, I promise - I'm going to kill you.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Silence draped the landscape. The air thrummed with potential power between Vejiita and Theo, resonant waves of energy that burned and vibrated the air between them.  
  
It was as if Theo had never spoken, had never whispered her acknowledgment of him.  
  
No visible power had been wielded by anyone, but the effects of a massive outpouring of energy were evident. Bodies were strewn everywhere, dropped in mid-stride across the wasteland - invisible strings that had held arms and legs in position had been severed by an unseen hand. Cronch remains lay like neglected, broken toys, with dead eyes open in dull surprise and limbs stiffening in bizarre, grotesque positions.   
  
The Earth senshi had been caught in that explosion of power, completely unaware of its consequences. Most of them had no idea how close they had come to becoming just another body strewn in the desert. They appeared stunned, unable to mentally process what could have caused every living being in their area - with the exception of themselves - to drop dead at precisely the same time.  
  
All, that is, except Vejiita. The prince watched the woman tucked under Gokuu's arm with an unblinking stare, his arms folded, his mouth in a tight, severe line.  
  
He knew exactly what had happened - but he couldn't believe it.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Gokuu slowly turned in midair, hanging onto Theo as he surveyed the mortal wreckage, shocked and silent. He shook his head, completely at a loss, and tapped down lightly on the ground.  
  
"Wow," he said in an undertone, his voice husky and raw, "...what - what happened? Vejiita? Vejiita, did you do this? Vejiita, I - I don't understand. Why did everyone just - just die?"  
  
The woman plastered to his hip started to wriggle, pushing at his arms in a feeble effort to free herself. Absently, Gokuu shifted her position and tightened his arm around her waist, squeezing her firmly, effectively cutting off any hope of escape she may have had. She hung from his grip, wheezing, her red head tilted toward the prince, legs and arms dangling in defeat.   
  
His gaze locked with Theo's, Vejiita responded caustically, "Don't be a fool, Kakarotto -I don't kill people that way."  
  
Theo swallowed and wriggled uncomfortably again. She turned her head, now refusing to meet Vejiita's eyes; instead, she concentrated on trying to push Gokuu's large, imprisoning arm away from her waist.  
  
The prince smirked in triumph as he watched their captive struggle. His gaze swept across her body, taking in her disheveled appearance - her curly red hair, her mutinous mouth, the impotent rage in her multihued eyes - which, when coupled with her arrogant, superior attitude, branded her unmistakably as the Guardian he mastered years ago.  
  
That fact alone was unbelievable. Everyone had died when Vejiitasei exploded, and when he thought about it at all he had simply assumed that the Guardian women had died with everyone else. Yet here was the woman he had bested when he was a child, very much alive.   
  
And she hasn't aged at all, he thought, astounded. He watched her squirm in Gokuu's grip, faint color flaring along her cheekbones. Her eyes glinted with suspicion, and fear, and something else - something that burned deeply in her expression when she gazed at him. With a start, he recognized it.  
  
She hates me, he thought, chuckling to himself, and she can't hide or control it. Good.  
  
And the power of her mind was incredible. It was her type of energy he felt invade them on the ship - and he now realized it had definitely been her chi he had sensed as they made landfall on Argus VI. It was the very same chi that pulled him along with her when she traveled to that other plain - where? Vejiita had no idea, but he knew for certain it was a place that mortals were not supposed to see.  
  
He stared at her, his smirk slowly turning to a scowl. But she was dangerous - she had been prepared to kill them all, just as she had been ready to slaughter his elite soldiers so many years ago. And in fact, it was only Vejiita's remarkable memory and instincts that saved the Earth's senshi from total destruction. He had recognized their peril on a subconscious level, knew what needed to be done, and traveled with her to that 'other place.' It was due to Kami's own luck that he had been able to stop her from killing everyone.   
  
And why didn't I just kill her? he wondered, annoyed at himself. That would have been the easiest thing to do ... But it hadn't even occurred to him - that, in itself, was strange.  
  
Normally Vejiita didn't question why things happened around him. He intuitively understood that it was his force of personality and physical strength that dominated other people, and that was usually enough reason for him.   
  
However, this time he felt that there was something more than simple psychological mastery at work. This woman had command of a power he couldn't touch, one that put the entire universe at her mercy, and yet ... she had listened to him. More than that - she obeyed him. Stopped what she was doing when he told her to stop - killed when he told her to kill - and did it instantly, without question. And did not try to kill him in the process.   
  
I could rule the universe with that power, he mused, his scowl becoming more pronounced and intimidating.  
  
She was staring back at him now, an angry, defiant expression in her eyes. Drop dead, Saiyan, he heard faintly in the back of his mind. Do the rest of the universe a HUGE favor.  
  
Oh, no, no, woman, he thought to himself, moving toward the earth until he tapped down gently on the ground, his well-muscled legs tensing on impact. That attitude won't do at all ...  
  
"Kakarotto," Vejiita said, clipping his words, "put that woman down. I want to speak with her."  
  
"Sure, Vejiita," Gokuu said with a puzzled look. He reached across his body with one large hand and gently flipped her upright, setting her on her feet. Theo stumbled forward, losing her balance as she tried to stand on unsteady legs again, clutching Gokuu's massive forearm for support.  
  
"Are you okay?" the large Saiyan asked, concern furrowing his brow, his large hands gently supporting her elbows. He was standing on Theo's left, ready to catch her if she wobbled in his direction.   
  
"I - I'm fine," Theo muttered, trying to breathe slowly and deeply as she pushed herself away from Gokuu's arms to stand on her own. "Really - I'm fine." She had a tingly, odd feeling when she touched him; she felt calmer and more centered, but she was also acutely aware of the lifeless Cronch surrounding them, as if she was seeing them through the Saiyan's eyes.   
  
"Ah ... well, okay ... if you're sure you're all right," Gokuu continued, looking concerned. He steadied her one last time, then removed his hands from her elbows and gave her a lopsided grin, cocking his head to look at her. "Hey - your hair turned red! That's a pretty neat trick! I can do that, too. Hey Vejiita, isn't that cool?" He turned to the prince, his face joyous with his important discovery.  
  
Theo gave him a weak smile, thinking, this guy is really ... strange. He's savage - and a Saiyan - but he's really not savage, either. I don't get it.. She turned and followed his gaze, and saw the grotesque bodies lying on the sand ...   
  
Eh ... and I killed them all, too ...  
  
... and then her eyes stopped with a jolt when they met those of the Prince.  
  
Her thoughts trailed off completed when she looked at the person striding across the wasteland - a very real, very angry, very adult version of the Saiyan that had terrorized her years before. As a child, he had been fearsome - but as an adult, he was doubly so. A light sheen of perspiration clung to his exposed skin as he walked toward her, his taut muscles rippling under his jumpsuit, his eyebrows lowered thunderously over penetrating black eyes. Theo didn't need any special abilities to tell her that he was furious with her for something; a look, a word, a thought ...  
  
...thoughts? she realized, horrified. He didn't speak - but I could hear him - so that means ... She gasped, completely unnerved, the pit of her stomach heavy and cold - that means that my thoughts were - gah -   
  
Her subconscious chimed in, derisive and insolent. Your master's the legendary Super Saiyan, her mind taunted, and he's come for you ...  
  
Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up and let me think! Theo told herself vehemently, despising her own weakness as she tried not to panic.  
  
"Yes, that was quite a trick," Vejiita agreed, his tone mocking. "But one that we don't need to see again."  
  
Suddenly he was directly in front of her, less than a quarter meter away. Theo blinked rapidly and pushed her chin in the air, locking her knees to stop their shaking and willing her hands to stay at her sides, defiantly staring into his eyes. The waves of power unconsciously streaming from him were suffocating, breaking Theo's confidence and will into small pieces.  
  
Vejiita paid no attention to anything other than the woman in front of him. Faster than her eye could follow, his left hand shot out, clamped around her throat and squeezed as he lifted her completely off the ground, his fingers almost encircling her neck.   
  
The other survivors gawked in stunned silence as Vejiita held Theo at arm's length, rage and fury sparking from his eyes as he viciously shook her and snarled, "You dare? You dare? You DARE to attack me and mine, and then try to take my right from me?"  
  
Gokuu protested, "Hey - Vejiita, don't be so rough with her!"  
  
Choking, Theo clawed frantically at Vejiita's rock hard hand with her own and tried to pry his fingers away from her neck. "No - ouji-sama, no - ouji, please -" she begged, gasping for air as her eyes rolled back into her head and her feet kicked the air.  
  
Ouji? thought Piccolo, disconcerted. Ouji-sama? She knows him?  
  
"His death," continued Vejiita, pointing at Gokuu and shaking her again, making her feet dance, "belongs to me. Not to you - to me." His eyes flashed as he dragged her centimeters away from his face, tightening his already severe grip on her neck. "Is that clear?"  
  
"Hai - hai - ouji-sama," she croaked, her head bobbing wildly, her fingers tensing reflexively around his wrist. "Please-"  
  
"Vejiita, that's enough! You're gonna kill her!"  
  
The larger Saiyan grabbed and pulled at the prince's wrist with his left hand while his right arm swept around Theo's waist, unceremoniously whisking her away from Vejiita and dumping her on the ground in back of him. Theo wobbled and doubled over, taking great, gasping breaths through her almost-crushed larynx as large purple bruises formed on either side of her neck. Her hands wrapped protectively around her throat; she wheezed nosily, her eyes huge and staring at the ground in front of her in shock. ... gods, this isn't happening ...  
  
"Have it your way, Kakarotto. But if you're so interested in what happened to the dead around you, why don't you ask her?" Vejiita folded his arms and stood back, his expression closed.  
  
Gokuu turned and looked at Theo, scratching the back of his head with a quizzical frown between his eyes. Theo slowly straightened up and met his gaze, one hand resting lightly on her collarbone as she visibly calmed herself, a contentious tilt to her head, her eyes appearing icy and cool.   
  
Inside, however, she was shuddering with fright. Could things get any worse? she wondered, hoping that her false bravado was fooling the Saiyan.   
  
It works on that moron, woman, but you aren't fooling me one bit.   
  
His thoughts came clearly into her head, rolling through her awareness. Just like the last time ... Her eyes skittered across to meet Vejiita's - cold, hard and accusing - and darted away again, focusing again on Gokuu, trying to block the prince from her mind. Any newfound courage she had quickly evaporated.   
  
Gokuu looked at Theo again, his kind eyes seeing through her brittle façade to the frightened woman within. "Well, gee... okay, Vejiita ... I'll ask her," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Scratching the back of his head again, he tipped his head to the side, gave her a goofy grin, and asked, "But first, tell me ... what's your name?"   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Piccolo was standing several paces behind Gokuu, watching the action. While the warrior's body gave every indication of being poised and ready to strike, the Namekian's normally stoic demeanor was one of incredulous astonishment. His gaze flickered continuously between Theo and Vejiita, darting back and forth as he tried to decide how to divide his attention, completely staggered by his unintentional discovery.   
  
When Theo leaped to that other plane of reality, she dragged not only Vejiita but also the warrior/kami along with her. Piccolo was paralyzed with shock when he realized where he was, how he had arrived there and who was there with him. Mortals were not supposed to be able to access that part of Heaven, at least not without guidance. When Theo's intent became clear - that she was going to kill everyone and everything that she could, whether it was out of fear, or anger, or vindictiveness - he could do nothing except stare in helpless dismay, realizing he was too far away from her to actually stop her.  
  
However, another seemingly impossible action occurred; one that changed the thrust of Piccolo's thinking, one that forced him to re-evaluate a myriad of old opinions he held concerning the crown prince of Vejiitasei.  
  
Vejiita had willingly saved all the Earth's senshi from certain death. Had, in fact, demanded that the woman relinquish her grip on the souls of the Earth warriors as his spirit loomed over hers, frightening in its intensity.  
  
But she literally had the fate of those in the desert clasped in her hands. One strong chi blast would have annihilated them, no matter how threatening Vejiita appeared. There was no need for her to submit to the prince; her strength, compared to his in that plane, was absolute - yet she did as he demanded and permitted the souls of the sensei to flutter away from her grip without a murmur of dissent.   
  
He - he - SAVED us, he stuttered to himself, looking at the scowling warrior, he actually saved us all..  
  
Switching his gaze over to Theo, he wondered, and why - why did she surrender to him? Her controlled power is infinitely stronger than his raw chi could ever be, Super Saiyan or no. There is no obvious reason ... unless ...  
  
The Namekian's face flushed as he watched Vejiita grab, shake, and release Theo. He knew intuitively that the Saiyan did not intend to kill her; it seemed as if he was simply chastising her, reestablishing a balance of power between them where the scales were tipped in his favor.  
  
She knows him, Piccolo realized, and he knows her very well. His eyes widened as another thought struck him. He's *used* her before today, too ... An image of Vejiita using that kind of power when he first arrived on Earth flashed quickly in the Namekian's mind - and was just as quickly rejected as Piccolo shied away from it, trying instead in vain to wrap himself around the vision of Vejiita as protector of the Earth's senshi.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
...this isn't happening ...   
  
But Theo couldn't deny what was in front of her eyes; a large, affable Saiyan, waiting patiently for her to answer his question. And behind him ... Vejiita.  
  
Nor could she deny what she felt. She swallowed, staring at the prince, her hand rubbing the side of her throat, gently massaging the bruised flesh underneath.   
  
"Hey - did ya hear me? What's your name?" the other Saiyan asked again, leaning toward her to get her attention.  
  
"Hai," she coughed, pulling her gaze away from the prince to stare at Gokuu. "Theo - my name's Theo, " she rasped, wincing at the pain, pushing air past damaged vocal chords, tension and wariness in the set of her shoulders.  
  
Gokuu nodded, watching her reactions with a childlike simplicity. "Did you really kill all these people, Theo?"  
  
She nodded, unconsciouly biting her lip, her red curls swaying slightly with the movement of her head. "Yes." "But ... why?"  
  
Theo blinked at Gokuu, incredulous, wondering why would he care what happened to the Cronch? his own people are safe... The Guardian looked hard at Gokuu, really looked at him for the first time - and saw no guile, no shrewdness, nothing to indicate that he was anything other than what he seemed to be - innocent and pure, someone merely looking for an explanation to something that seemed inexplicable.  
  
Theo was momentarily shaken at her discovery. No one could be that innocent, she thought, wondering at the depth of integrity she felt from Gokuu. Especially someone who's Saiyan ... Now she couldn't lash out at him as she originally intended - that assumed he was an unthinking, uncaring brute, which was obviously not the case. Oh, jeez, I actually have to tell him why ...  
  
"Well," she started slowly, "I - I was - afraid. I was afraid of what those people would do to me ... and to my daughter." She looked over his shoulder, past the scowling prince to the scattered corpses across the sands, and felt a momentary twinge of conscience. Doubts and misgivings started to gnaw at her mind as she took in the scope of the carnage.  
  
"I didn't kill all of them," she continued defensively, "a lot of them fought and killed each other. And then they were attacking us ... you have no idea of the vile things they wanted to do ... to me, and then to my daughter ... and then ..."   
  
...and then, God help me, a Super Saiyan appeared ... and I went insane ...  
  
Gokuu looked at her, a strange expression on his face; then he shook his head as if to clear it. "I remember that the big guy really wanted to hurt that other woman. But I still don't get why you had to kill all those people." He frowned and started to move toward her. "We could've helped you; we would've protected you."  
  
Theo hurriedly took several steps back, keeping the same distance between them, her eyes bright and focused, her right hand held up in a warning gesture to come no further. Gokuu frowned and stopped where he was, spreading his hands to the sides, wordlessly imploring her to stop.  
  
"Please - wait. Wait. Really, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk to you."  
  
Theo's gaze darted momentarily to Vejiita, then back to Gokuu. As much as she hated to do it, she realized that she had to speak to the prince before she could reveal anything to this man.  
  
Ouji-sama, she sent reluctantly, ouij-sama, please - tell him - tell him you told me to kill all of them -   
  
The prince snorted, narrowing his eyes at Theo. I don't think so. You were going to kill EVERYone, remember? That was entirely YOUR idea, Guardian, not mine - I simply made sure you killed the correct people. I'm not saying a word.  
  
But-  
  
No, he sent back flatly.   
  
She felt his presence fade into the background of her mind, his refusal absolute.  
  
Theo closed her eyes briefly, searching for the words to tell the man in front of her what she had done. It bothered her that she was having so much trouble communicating such a simple idea; and she had been right to kill them all, dammit, she knew she was right - because they would have killed her without a second thought. And they wanted to do more than that, too, she thought angrily, so I beat them to the punch. Too bad. They deserved it. Dark, troubled colors swirled in the depths of her eyes as she tried again to explain.  
  
"No - you don't understand. They - they threw me in with the other people they captured on this planet," she said, watching Gokuu carefully, "and they had already tried - that is, their leader left me, and one of them - he -" Theo stopped and clutched the top of her borrowed workshirt, involuntarily glancing down at her chest, remembering the wandering hands of the Cronch warrior and her feelings of humiliation and impotent fury.  
  
A sudden surge of unfamiliar outrage flooded her mind, pushing her own thoughts askew. They dared to touch you?  
  
She was so surprised by the force of emotion flying through her mind that she staggered off balance, blinking. Her gaze snapped up and was caught by Vejiita's again; the prince's stare bore through her with a fiery intensity as the rest of his thought - no one molests anything that belongs to me - rolled across her awareness.  
  
Theo was dumbfounded at the prince's reaction; belongs to you? she echoed weakly to herself. She pushed all the implications of that thought away as she continued talking with Gokuu.  
  
"-well - I knew they were going to hurt us - plus, there was so much power coming from- from -"  
  
All at once the memory of a platinum corona, bright as twin suns that surrounded a man with hair the color of burnished gold flashed through her mind, raw chi pouring from him in wave after wave. Theo involuntarily shivered, her eyes huge and dark as she remembered the thrill of fear she felt when she realized that Vejiita was the Super Saiyan. "There was so much power - " she repeated, whispering, perspiration starting again on her forehead, "so much power flooding me ... and I couldn't do anything ... but then ..."  
  
A familiar voice sliced through her awareness, causing her to stop her halting explanation again in mid-sentence. "You are so brave," it gushed, its musical tones resonating in the morning air. "You saved me. You saved my life." What? "Elyse," she said sharply, her head turning about as she looked for her daughter. Damn, I forgot you were here, Theo groaned silently. "Elyse, where are-"   
  
"-you ... "  
  
Theo's gaze found Elyse and the rest of her thoughts died on her lips as her jaw dropped in shock. Two slight figures stood together about ten meters away, highlighted by the morning sun and surrounded by bodies of dead Cronch. A crop of tousled bright red hair rested lightly against a light blue denim jacket as Theo's daughter gazed up at the lavender haired boy - no, not just a boy, a *Saiyan* boy, Theo corrected herself, horrorstruck - with huge, multicolored eyes. Elyse's small hands reflexively grabbed the right arm of her protector, clinging to him as if to a lifeline while she stared at him with a melting, doe-eyed expression.   
  
"Hey, look, it's that other woman who was out here!" Gokuu exclaimed, turning toward Theo. "She's your daughter, isn't she? Boy, she really looks a lot like you. Don't you think so, too, Vejiita? Even more than Trunks looks like you." Tilting his head to one side and squinting, Gokuu said, "I think it's because of the hair. Trunks' hair isn't like yours at all."  
  
Who ... who are you talking to? Who is this Trunks? Theo looked at Gokuu, dismay and astonishment still plainly written across her face, then turned again to watch Elyse and the young Saiyan.  
  
Trunks looked down at her and smiled quizzically, patting the hands that, without warning, had turned into grasping talons on his forearm. "Are you all right?" he asked as he gently tried to dislodge her fingers from his arm without success. "That was pretty serious - did any of their blaster shots hurt you?"   
  
"Oh, no," she breathed, totally in thrall. "I'm just absolutely fine right now. And you were unbelieveable," she continued, her body relaxing against his as she gave him a brilliant smile. "You defeated all those things that attacked me - oh, it was incredible -"  
  
Trunks looked down at his boots, completely disconcerted. "Uh ... thanks," he mumbled shyly, then lifted his gaze from the ground back to Elye's face. "I couldn't allow those ... ah, people ... to attack you. It just wasn't right. I didn't think that-"  
  
Oh, no, no, no, this is NOT going to go on ... Theo thought, aghast. She's got to get away from him - and good Kami, she left the TARDIS door wide open - "Elyse!" she hissed, her voice whispered and harsh, "Elyse - what are you doing?"  
  
"Mama?" Elyse responded, astonished. She drew her head away from Trunks' shoulder a scant millimeter, still holding onto his arm, and swiveled her head in Theo's direction, suddenly realizing they had an audience. "Mama - what -"  
  
"Elyse," Theo said, trying to put as many coercive overtones into her voice as she could. She sneaked a glance at Vejiita, sliding hers across a confused Gokuu on the way, and breathed a small sigh of relief. Oh thank the gods - he isn't paying attention, he doesn't care - and the other one is clearly dimwitted -  
  
"Elyse - honey. Listen to me," Theo said, urgency coloring her tone as she leaned toward her daughter. She thought about running over to her, but swiftly rejected the idea when she realized who else would know what was in her mind - and that the big Saiyan probably wouldn't allow her to get close to them anyway. Best not to disturb either one...  
  
"Back up. Do what I'm telling you, for once in your life. Back up - move away from that person and just back up against the rock. Now. Do it." Get into the TARDIS, girl, slam the door and get OUT of here ...   
  
Feigning disinterest, the prince watched Theo's exchange with her daughter through slitted eyelids.   
  
Elyse frowned at her mother, her hands still resting on Trunks' forearm. "Back up from where, Mama? Are you all right? What are you talking about?"  
  
Trunks looked over at Theo and caught the Guardian's watchful, angry eye. She doesn't like me? he thought, surprised. But what did I do? I saved this woman from those animals - and now she's ... He looked down into Elyse's adoring face, and suddenly realized there was much more to Elyse's posture than simply using him as a support. A large blush started from the base of his neck and spread diagonally across his face as he tried to extricate himself from her grasp.  
  
"Mama, I don't get what-"   
  
Theo desperately flung a very concentrated image at her daughter's psyche, mentally yelling stop mooning over that Saiyan boy and get into the damn TARDIS before he kills you ...  
  
"Oh!"  
  
Comprehension and stubborn outrage bloomed in Elyse's mind as she turned on her mother. She snorted, flung his arm away and took two full steps in front of Trunks as if she was defending him. Elyse stood five paces away from the TARDIS door with her arms akimbo and her face scrunched into an offended scowl. She took a deep breath before beginning her tirade, her eyes flashing with angry color.  
  
"What are you talking about? How dare you! Mama, what is your problem? This person just saved me - he's not going to hurt me! He stepped right in front of me, risked his life, cut those awful things down with his sword and saved me. How can you be so insensitive?"   
  
How familiar, Vejiita thought in amusement as he watched the women square off against each other.  
  
"Don't argue with me, Elyse," Theo snapped back, her eyes blazing fire. She stalked toward her daughter as she spoke, gesturing emphatically at the TARDIS. "You have absolutely NO idea what's going on here. Just do what I'm telling you to do, and do it now - move over to that rock!"  
  
Vejiita could feel psychic energy gathering at the base of Theo's mind as her tenuous control over her emotions started to slip. No wonder my father believed these people were dangerous, he thought as he felt the power grow in her psyche. That potential is gigantic ...  
  
"Wait - wait, Theo! Don't go anywhere - I have something to tell you!"   
  
A large, solid body materialized in front of Theo without warning. She collided with Gokuu, her momentum driving her into the Saiyan so hard that her face slammed into his chest and she fell back, groaning.  
  
"What are you doing?" she demanded, tears of pain sparkling in he eyes as she massaged her nose. "Get out of my way - I have to get to my daughter!"  
  
Dancing from foot to foot, Gokuu effectively blocked her access to anything beyond him as he said excitedly, "No - Theo, this is really important - I get it now! You don't have to worry. I figured it all out. You were scared of Vejiita because he changed, right?"  
  
Desperately Theo tried to dodge around him, to no avail. "What? Get out of my way - I'm not kidding - Elyse, move it!"  
  
"No!" the young Guardian immediately shouted back, completely miffed. "I'm not going anywhere, Mama! Not until you explain - it's just not fair!"  
  
"Elyse, I am not going to - jeez, will you please get OUT of my way? Just leave - me - alone!" Theo yelled at Gokuu, vainly trying to shove him to one side, her nerves at the breaking point.  
  
"Wow ... your eyes are changing color again," Gokuu said, leaning down to peer into her face, fascinated.  
  
Theo's fist slammed into the side of Gokuu's nose, propelling him slightly off balance. "Step aside, you moron!" she screamed at him, now completely incensed. "Get - out - of - my - WAY!"  
  
"Mama!" Elyse screamed, shocked.  
  
Blinking, Gokuu caught Theo's wrists and held them gently in front of her. "Don't be mad," he pleaded, "just listen. You're afraid of Vejiita and his power - right? Because he showed those other people how strong he was, and you got to see it, too? Well," he finished with a grin, "you don't have to worry about that. Because I know that Vejiita would never hurt you. Never."   
  
"Let - GO of me!" Theo yanked her wrists out of Gokuu's loose grip and snarled in his face, "You are a total, complete, fucking MORON! What are you babbling about? What do you mean, I don't need to be afraid of him any longer?"   
  
Gokuu started, "But you really don't, because -"  
  
She gave a short, mirthless laugh as the last vestiges of her sanity fled, cutting Gokuu off in mid sentence. "Of course I'm afraid of him - how stupid do you think I am? Do you think I don't know what he is? Where all that power came from? What he's become? Of COURSE I know!"  
  
"He's the legendary Super Saiyan - the destroyer of worlds, the one who will obliterate us all, and he's come for me! Now get the fuck outta my way!"   
  
Gokuu nodded emphatically as if he agreed with everything she said and that she had not just insulted him.   
  
"But that's exactly what I've been trying to tell you! You don't have to be afraid of Vejiita. He's not the same as he was a long, long time ago - he's changed. And look!" Without warning, power shot out from the man like a fountain, wrapping her from head to toe in its essence, pummeling her ruthlessly. She staggered backwards at the initial burst, squinting and flinching away from its manifestation, her hands in front of her eyes - then slowly brought her hands down in astonishment.  
  
Gokuu was grinning, wreathed in the same platinum glow that had bathed Vejiita. "See? I told you I could change my hair color like you did. But really, we won't hurt you - I promise."  
  
Theo's mouth hung open as she stared at the transformed man in utter disbelief. His neck and shoulders were corded and huge; his biceps had grown to what appeared to be twice their normal size; he seemed to be taller, his hair was golden and his eyes were green. Power and strength were leaving him in waves, battering her mental defenses, breaking down her walls.  
  
Oh ... my... god ... he's a Super Saiyan, too ... there's... more than one ...   
  
Too much - it was just too much. Her eyes caught hold of him but her consciousness slithered away, crying ~we're all going to die ... ~ Then her eyes rolled back into her head, her legs folded beneath her and she collapsed to the ground in front of him, unconscious.  
  
Gokuu looked at her, his aura still flickering around him, completely at a loss. "What'd I do?"  
  
"Congratulations, Kakarotto," Vejiita said, a sardonic grin on his face as he walked forward toward Theo's limp body. "I think you may have killed my telepath." 


	15. It's a TARDIS!

Time Warriors Chapter 15  
  
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"Theo? THEO! Damn, damn, damn!"  
  
Dron and Allyssa were standing together in the desert, watching Theo scream and struggle with Vejiita. Allyssa's fingers tightened around the trigger of her blaster when Vejiita hauled Theo off the ground by her neck and shook her; Dron's hand on her shoulder, though, stopped her from firing, and she lowered the blaster altogether when Theo was released relatively unharmed to the ground.  
  
"We've got to get closer," the warrior woman hissed to Dron, staring at the Saiyan prince with active dislike. "That one's going to kill her."  
  
The spacer gave a curt nod, and gestured at a barely discernible path among the dead. The two of them started to make their way toward Theo, carefully stepping amidst the cooling Cronch bodies sprawled in the sand, ignoring the stench, their weapons at the ready.  
  
Theo was screaming angrily again, this time at the other Saiyan who appeared to be blocking her way. Suddenly a warm yellow glow engulfed the large man's body; Theo immediately stopped screaming, stared, stiffened, then doubled over and fell on her side.  
  
The Gant was in motion before Theo hit the ground.  
  
*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^   
  
Gokuu was extremely upset.   
  
People did not simply collapse on the ground in front of him without a very good reason. Those that did had usually challenged him to a fight, fought as hard as they possibly could, and lost. Even at that, Gokuu made sure he fought fairly and didn't take undo advantage of any of his challengers. He certainly didn't want to kill anyone.  
  
But as he looked at Theo's inert body, he couldn't help but feel that he had failed her in some important way. She had projected such desperation, anger and abject fear about her that he felt sorry for her - so much so that he actually spent time thinking about why she was so afraid. He realized that her emotions, especially her anger and fear, were somehow tied up with Vejiita.  
  
Which, in retrospect, was the god's honest truth. She was afraid of Vejiita. She had even said so, quite loudly, right in his face - and she was afraid of the prince, in large part, because he was a Super Saiyan.  
  
No, he frowned slightly, not just "a" Super Saiyan - the Super Saiyan. Like there was only one.  
  
So in Gokuu's mind, the solution was obvious - just show her that he was a Super Saiyan, too, and that he would protect her - then she wouldn't need to be afraid of Vejiita anymore, would she?  
  
But that wasn't what had happened at all. Theo had taken one look at him, turned a pasty white color, sighed and collapsed at his feet, leaving him totally baffled.  
  
"I don't get it," he said, scratching the back of his head as he powered down. "What did I do?"  
  
"You didn't do anything, Gokuu," rumbled Piccolo as he moved toward the Saiyans. "For some reason, she just fainted - that's all."  
  
Vejiita stood next to Gokuu, looking down at Theo's body, a knowing smirk on his face.   
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**  
  
"Mama!" Elyse called across the desert, distraught. "Mama, are you all right?"   
  
She turned to Trunks, grabbing the young Saiyan's arm again and tugging him with her. "Please - please - you've got to come with me. I don't know what's happened to my mother - I can't see a thing from here. We have to see if she's all right!"  
  
Trunks nodded, seeing the desperation in her eyes. "Come on. I'll take you over there."  
  
He picked her up, snagging his arm about her waist, and flew over to the strange little scene, landing softly next to Piccolo. Elyse was so upset that she spared not a look for the green man standing next to her; instead, she dropped Trunks' arm and started to bound away from him.  
  
"Mama!" Elyse cried, seeing her mother's prone form on the ground. "Mama, what-"  
  
Elyse's cry was choked off as she was abruptly shoved to the side, thrown out of the way and back into Trunks' arms. The lavender haired boy grunted slightly and staggered backwards as her weight slammed into his chest, pushing both of them into the Namekian.   
  
"Hn!" grunted Piccolo as the unexpected weight crashed into him, driving him off balance to sit solidly in the cool desert sand.  
  
"What-" Gokuu started, only to have a very large blaster shoved millimeters from his face.  
  
"Back off, bud," grated the thin, gray haired man at the other end of the blaster. "Don't make me use this."  
  
There was a moment of stunned silence - then a short bark of derisive laughter came from Gokuu's right. "Are you serious? Do you actually think that would stop him? Or me?" Vejiita stood next to the affable Saiyan, his arms folded across his chest as he glowered at Dron.  
  
"Probably not," Dron allowed as he shifted his weapon, "but I'd do it anyway." He stood his ground; a small, wiry man with flinty eyes in a gray jumpsuit, holding a large blaster aimed at Gokuu's head, his finger on the trigger.  
  
Peering around the blaster, Gokuu saw a grim-faced woman kneeling in the sand next to Theo, long dark hair wisped around her face, cradling Theo's head in her hands. "Who's that?"  
  
"None of your business," Dron snapped, the muzzle of the gun following Gokuu's movements.  
  
A blurred motion abruptly whipped the weapon out the of spacer's hands; at the same time Dron was flung backwards, landing hard on his shoulder, hitting the packed sand with some force. He grunted and rolled to his side, recovered quickly and drew another pistol from his jumpsuit as he rose in a crouch - only to meet Vejiita's penetrating gaze burning into his. The Saiyan stood a scant meter in front of the spacer, holding his blaster in one hand.   
  
"Put it down," Vejiita ordered, his voice silky and quiet, "unless you want me to do this to you." He balanced Dron's blaster on the palm of his hand; a sudden gust of chi disintegrated the weapon, leaving nothing but a slight black residue.  
  
Dron, still in a half-crouch, let his pistol drop from suddenly nerveless fingers.  
  
A cold smile touched Vejiita's face. He held the spacer's gaze for a few moments more, then turned his attention from him to the woman who had been kneeling next to Theo. While he was occupied with the male, this female had managed to pull Theo upright, had slung the Guardian over one shoulder and was apparently going to try to spirit her away. The woman's expression was openly hostile and angry as she stared at Vejiita, staggering a bit under Theo's weight.  
  
"Put her down," the prince commanded in a tone that brooked no disobedience, nodding his head toward Theo.  
  
"Go to hell," the woman spit at him, clutching Theo's knees closer to her body, her green eyes snapping fire.  
  
"I've been there," Vejiita drawled, his eyebrows drawing together as he stared at her, glowering. "It's pretty dull. Now - you have one last chance to save your miserable hide." He leaned forward slightly and enunciated every word clearly. "Put - my - telepath - down - NOW." An ominous ball of blue chi was forming in his left hand, stray pieces of energy crackling up and down his arm.  
  
"Your telepath?" Allyssa bristled.   
  
A large body inserted itself between Vejiita and the woman. "No - Vejiita, wait!" Gokuu exclaimed as he shouldered his way in front of the prince, effectively blocking Vejiita's left hand. "Remember? We saw her protect Theo earlier against those big rocks. And then she yelled at those creatures, making them fire at her instead of Theo." He looked seriously at Allyssa and nodded. "She's been trying to save her since we first saw her. She's no threat to us or Theo."  
  
"Kakarotto, what are you doing? Get out of my way, you imbecile!" Vejiita snarled as he reached out with both hands to snag Gokuu's gi and fling him as far away from himself as he possibly could. His ball of chi immediately dissipated, bleeding harmlessly into the ground.  
  
"No - Vejiita, wait -"  
  
"Allyssa, what are you doing?"  
  
Both Gokuu and Vejiita stopped grappling and turned their heads toward the source of the new voice, surprised.  
  
A small woman with bright red hair sprinted across the sand, closely followed by Trunks and Piccolo, her slight figure highlighted by the morning sun, her tunic flapping loosely against her skin. She ignored the Saiyans completely as she ran over to the warrior woman, indignation and fear chasing across her face. "What do you think you're doing? You can't do this! Where are you going with Mama? Is she all right? I don't understand-"  
  
Allyssa's face turned pale. "Elyse, what the hell are you doing? Get out of the way!" she barked as she grabbed the younger woman's arm and shoved Elyse behind her. "You shouldn't be here!" Her eyes darted back and forth as she realized the senshi were circling around her, bringing her to bay like a pack of wolves.   
  
Oh, man, this is really bad, she thought grimly as she stepped back several paces.  
  
"Mama?" Vejiita repeated, his eyes narrowing as he turned toward the retreating Gant. ~Mama?~  
  
"What are you doing, Allyssa?" Elyse asked again, perturbed. "I don't under-"  
  
"Shut UP, Elyse!" Allyssa ground out between her teeth, staring at the narrowing circle of Earth senshi in front of her, frantically searching for a way out. "Just shut up and let me think!"  
  
"Don't be so bossy, Allyssa - they won't hurt us - he won't allow it! Will you?" Elyse beckoned to Trunks with her free hand, her eyes large and imploring, complete and total trust in her gaze. "He saved me!"  
  
Allyssa looked at the young man in front of her and groaned inwardly - what a time to fall for a pretty face, Elyse. "Yes, Elyse, he's lovely, but he won't-"  
  
"Uh ... No. No, of course I won't let anyone hurt you," Trunks stammered, trotting over to Elyse's outstretched hand. Color ran across his face as he gave her a gentle smile, then turned his back to stand elbow to elbow with Allyssa against the other Saiyans.   
  
  
The Gant warrior stared down at the lavender haired boy, skepticism and doubt clearly marring her expression. "What ... is this? You're one of them - and you going to help us?"  
  
Trunks looked back at her, baffled yet poised. "Well, I guess I'm 'one of them;' but I saved her from those other creatures, and now ... I have an obligation. She asked me to come with her to see about her mother." He took a quick look around Allyssa's back. "This is her mother you're holding, yes? Is she all right?"  
  
Before Allyssa could answer, Vejiita broke in. "What are you doing out here?" he asked Trunks, suspicion coloring his tone. "I thought you were supposed to be guarding your mother and her equipment."  
  
Trunks turned to his father. "Kuririn's doing that now. I felt something really gigantic, otousan - a colossal chi - and knew someone was in danger," he replied with a shrug. "It felt as though everyone was in danger. I had to come out."  
  
They were, boy, they were, thought Piccolo, and if it wasn't for your father ... His mind refused to wrap around that thought again, shying away from it.  
  
"Otousan?" Elyse squeaked, peering around Allyssa's side at Vejiita, then looking back to Trunks. "Otousan? You mean that man's your-"  
  
Allyssa's eyes widened as the implications of what Elyse was saying hit home. Otousan? For that boy? The one that Elyse likes?   
  
"Hey - you're Theo's daughter, aren't you?" Gokuu asked, his broad shoulders pushing in front of Vejiita again as he walked over toward Allyssa. "You look just like her, did you know that? Just as pretty. Your eyes are just like hers, too. How do they do that spinning thing, where all the colors turn together?"  
  
Allyssa glowered at him; Elyse blinked in surprise. "Um ... well, yes, I'm her daughter ... my name's Elyse," she murmured shyly, peering around Allyssa. "And ... my eyes just... do that," she continued, cocking her head and directly at Gokuu, her voice getting stronger. "I don't know why. Mama says that when we get upset or excited that they spin faster."  
  
"They're really pretty. I've never seen eyes like yours or your mother's before," Gokuu said, completely sincere. He looked at her searchingly and continued, "And I'll bet you've never seen people like us before, either. Did you say that Trunks saved you?"  
  
"Is that your name?" Elyse murmured to the lavender haired Saiyan. As he nodded at her, she gushed to Gokuu, "Oh, yes - he saved me from those awful creatures! They were all around me, and I couldn't get away - but then he just appeared out of nowhere-" and she gave him a dazzling smile, "and cut them all down with his sword! Oh, you should have seen it, Allyssa," she said to the Gant, tugging on her free arm, "he was magnificent! I don't know how many there were - six, or seven, or eight - and then suddenly, there were none in front of us. They were all lying dead on the ground. It was amazing!"  
  
"Not as amazing as how it really happened," Vejiita muttered to himself, his arms crossed in front of his chest.  
  
Allyssa's eyes met the prince's gaze for a moment - he knows, she thought dismally. Then the larger Saiyan claimed her attention once again.  
  
"Look," he began guilelessly to Allyssa and Elyse, "we aren't trying to frighten you. We don't want to hurt you, or Theo, or anyone here. We were just trying to protect her - to make sure that she didn't get hurt. And we did." Gokuu frowned, shifting his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "But then she told me something I can't quite believe - she said that she killed everyone here. I don't really understand it - not really - "  
  
Allyssa closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and looked at Gokuu. The man's face seemed to be as genuine and truthful as any she had ever seen. He's not trying to trick me at all, she thought, surprised, he really does mean what he says. He tried to save Theo from those other beasts, he doesn't understand what happened, and he's not trying to kill us.   
  
"All right. I believe you," she said to Gokuu, swallowing in a dry throat.  
  
Gokuu looked at her, nodding. "We really don't mean any harm," he said. "What happened here?"  
  
"It's a long story," she said, shifting Theo's weight again on her shoulder and pivoting smoothly on the ball of her foot. "But - it's one that she could not have survived without your help." Allyssa looked meaningfully at Elyse, nodding imperceptibly toward the TARDIS; the younger Guardian stared at her a moment, shook her head fiercely, then scowled, her shoulders slumping.   
  
This could actually work, she thought wildly, trying to keep her heart from thumping out of her chest. If only Elyse doesn't let on to that boy ...  
  
Allyssa started walking in the general direction of the TARDIS, nodding for Gokuu and Trunks to come with her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dron start to pace her in back of the warrior's circle. Vejiita stayed in place, scowling.  
  
Aloud, she continued smoothly, "Theo always seems to get into situations that are over her head, and then - heh - I have to come in and rescue her. But we were fortunate that YOU were able to do that for us." Allyssa turned a brilliant smile to both Gokuu and Trunks as they meandered forward, her eyes watching as Elyse slithered around the rocks and debris on the desert floor to the front door of the TARDIS.   
  
Oh thank god, she got it, she knows ...  
  
"But now that we have her, we can take care of things from here," Allyssa nodded, smiling, now backing up toward the open TARDIS door, concealed by its rock disguise.   
  
Just a few more paces, and then we'll be home free ...   
  
She watched Dron slink closer to the door as she said, "Thanks so much for keeping her safe, though. We'll be leaving-"  
  
"I don't think so," declared a cold voice behind her.  
  
Allyssa froze in place, petrified. She slowly turned to see the Saiyan prince standing directly in her path to the TARDIS and salvation, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.   
  
Allyssa found she had no voice; her proximity to Vejiita robbed her of her ability to speak.   
  
"She stays," he said, his tone and manner uncompromising.  
  
Allyssa swallowed and said weakly, "I don't see where you have-"   
  
"She nearly killed everyone here," Vejiita continued, his voice cold and hard, the force of his personality withering any dissension near it. "She has the ability to that anytime she wants. She will NOT get that opportunity again. Ever."  
  
His gaze bored into Allyssa, pinning her to the spot. "She stays. And I'll take her now."  
  
With that, he slipped his arm under Theo's body and hauled her from Allyssa's shoulder to his own, still keeping his gaze centered on the woman warrior. He handled Theo as though she was a rag doll, flopping her across one shoulder, then settling her in place.   
  
Mine, Allyssa could have sworn she heard in her mind. The woman is mine.  
  
Allyssa snapped her mouth closed and stared at him. "Very well," she said, acquiescing to his demand. "We will stay for a little while."  
  
"Don't misunderstand me," Vejiita said, raising one eyebrow. "I don't care if any of you stay or go. This woman, however, stays."  
  
A short silence greeted that announcement. "But ... but we can't go anywhere without Mama," Elyse said in a small voice.  
  
"Then I suppose you'll be coming with us," Vejiita retorted, staring at the young Guardian. She pursed her lips, but remained silent. Vejiita gave her a caustic smile.  
  
"And we should leave this place pretty soon, too," Piccolo said, looking around. "We should not be here when other people see this battlefield."  
  
"You're right, Piccolo," said Gokuu in agreement. "We should be moving." The warrior cocked his head and looked around, baffled. "Where did Gohan get to?"  
  
"I'm over here, otousan," a familiar voice called. "I've been looking around at the rest of the site, since everyone here seemed to have things under control."  
  
"Did you find anything?" his sensei asked, watching the Saiyan touch down on the ground.  
  
"No," he sighed. "Only a lot of dead ... eh ... whatever those things are. Were. Nothing else, really. But it's odd," he mused. "I felt this really strange energy pulse not too long ago - and then it just disappeared."  
  
Piccolo shrugged. "That's happened an awful lot today. I wouldn't worry about it." He looked around at their little group and asked, "Well? Are we going back now?"  
  
Allyssa snorted at him. "We'll just follow you on the ground. I really don't like to-"  
  
"Wait!" Elyse exclaimed, frowning at the Gant again. "Allyssa, what're you doing? Have you forgotten? We don't have to walk - let's just take the TARDIS, it's right here!" And she pointed at the large red boulder directly behind Vejiita.  
  
The gaze of the Earth senshi followed Elyse's pointing finger. They all stared at the rock, bewildered.   
  
"Um ... but that's just a rock," Gohan said, puzzled. "How can we travel on a rock? Do you want everyone to sit on top of it, and then I'll carry it to our place?"  
  
Allyssa's face had turned completely white, and she appeared to have stopped breathing altogether. As she stared at Elyse in stunned disbelief, the only phrase running through her mind was I can't believe you said that ... I can't believe you said that... I can't believe it ...   
  
Dron was standing next to Allyssa. He could almost smell the fear coming from her.  
  
"No, no, it's not just a rock," Elyse explained, beaming at Trunks and Gokuu, completely oblivious to Allyssa's consternation. "It's a TARDIS - it's the way we travel around different planets and between the stars. We're travelers, you know," she finished proudly. "We've been almost everywhere there is to go."  
  
"Really?" drawled Vejiita, interested. "You've been everywhere in the universe?"  
  
... and if they didn't know before, they certainly know now... Allyssa thought, hopeless. "Elyse-" she started, a warning implied in that one word.   
  
The young Guardian bobbed her red head warily at the Saiyan as she gestured for everyone to follow her into the TARDIS, ignoring the Gant. "Oh, yes, quite," she said. "Mama, Allyssa and I have been traveling for years. We go everywhere together. It's a lot of fun. We actually came here on a vacation. But," she said, musing, "this hasn't turned out quite the way I expected."  
  
Allyssa sagged toward the ground; Dron caught her in time and supported her, slipping a small explosives pack into her hand. "For later," he whispered in her ear, his eyes roving to see if anyone saw the exchange.  
  
No one did. Allyssa gripped it tightly, as if it were a lifeline.  
  
Elyse stopped at the side of the boulder and said, "Now watch your step as you go in, please. It's a bit narrow to begin with, but you'll see - there's plenty of room for everyone."  
  
"Oh, you mean this is your ship," Gokuu said, happy that he finally understood, patting the boulder with his hand. "But - how do you travel inside this rock? Is there a lot of it underground?"  
  
Elyse grinned at him, a charming picture of red curls and brilliant eyes. "Go on in - you'll see."  
  
"Well, all right," Gokuu said good-naturedly, stooping to go through the door. "But I don't see how -" Suddenly his voice took on a hollow timbre as he exclaimed, "Piccolo! Gohan! Vejiita! You're not going to believe this! This ship is bigger on the INSIDE than the OUTSIDE!"  
  
"What?" Gohan said, frowning, standing outside the door. "How can that be? That's impossible!"  
  
"Why don't you go in and see?"  
  
The tall Saiyan also stooped to go through the doorway; his gasp of surprise was audible outside the vessel. "I - I can't believe this! I've never seen anything like it!"  
  
Trunks and Elyse walked into the TARDIS next; Vejiita gestured impatiently with his free hand for Allyssa and Dron to go in, snapping, "You're next."  
  
Allyssa glared at him as she and Dron disappeared through the doorway.  
  
Only Piccolo and Vejiita were left. As the Namekian gestured for Vejiita to precede him into the ship, he looked at Theo and commented, "Hn. You were with her when she tried to kill us all. I saw it. You saved us all ..."  
  
Vejiita scowled. "Just shut up."  
  
Piccolo continued as if Vejiita had never spoken, "...and you know her very well."  
  
Vejiita narrowed his eyes at the green warrior and bit out, "Yes. So what?"  
  
The Namek nodded to the woman slung over the Saiyan's shoulder. "Do you believe she's a threat?"  
  
Vejiita snorted, amused, "Not around me, she isn't." He walked into the spaceship without another word, Theo's limp body swinging gently back and forth.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The shuttle was loaded and moving through the Alerian Sink without mishap. The extra weight had been programmed into the ship's databanks, but still made maneuvering difficult, even with a ship as small as the shuttle. Large vent tubes belching quantities of uranium hexafluoride had to be avoided, as the corrosive potential of that gas was without limit; one it touched the hull, it would not stop until it had exhausted its "food" supply - meaning that there would be a full blown hull breach anywhere the gas had come in contact with the shuttle.  
  
Nodding his satisfaction with the mission, the captain felt he could relax a few moments and savor the memory of the absolute fright that human, Lieutenant Grant, had shown. There was something to be said for inspiring such abject fear; the man's face had turned a satisfying shade of purple when the issue about the Time Lord had been pushed - and he had agreed to procure her for them. Much better - much, much better than having to find the damned woman themselves. It was doable, but the planet was huge. Grant, on the other hand, had local contacts all over the planet.   
  
And through the Time Lord, he thought with particular viciousness, we'll get her vessel. She was important, valuable - the destroyer of his race, brought to justice by his own hands - but her vessel was also important. She would be the means of their unending supply of energy, while her ship - ah, her ship would take them through the galaxy, riding on the time winds, visiting the past, present and future of every planet imaginable. They would be the ultimate conquerors, insuring the perpetuation of the silicone species at the expense of the biologics again and again and again.  
  
Immortality was within their grasp.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"The captain has signaled that they are currently on their return trajectory, and will be in a communications blackout until they clear the atmosphere of the planet."  
  
"Aye. Carry on, navigator."  
  
The officer in charge slumped in the captain's seat, bored beyond belief. He had returned to the bridge from his laboratory, bringing several large pieces of odd looking machinery with him. He had teased and tweaked the circuits mercilessly, probing them to give up their secrets; only after numerous tries with different pieces of equipment had he been able to puzzle out exactly what this piece of 'liberated' machinery was.  
  
It was a gun. Specifically, it was a large time gun.  
  
It had been liberated from the Rutons, the arch enemy of the Sontarans, fairly recently. The officer was convinced that the only reason it had been 'liberated' was because the Rutons could not figure out how to manipulate it. He knew, in fact, that the Rutons had 'liberated' it from some other unfortunate race - and, he was guessing, those people had the same problems as the Rutons.  
  
"And sir? Sir? Here are the readouts on that anomalous energy reading. It appeared again, sir, stronger than the last time. It seems to be fairly quiet right now ... if you'd like, we can pinpoint the source for you ..."  
  
"Yes, fine ... do whatever." The officer sighed and accepted the information, vowing to do nothing until the REAL captain returned. After all, decisions like this were best left to the captain, no matter what -  
  
The data whipped across his personal screen on the comm chair. He squinted at it; years of data analysis made habitual perusal of data second nature to him. However, when he actually saw this data - watched the entire data set on the comm screen - he started to tremble as if he were in an earthquake.   
  
"No," he whispered to himself, "this can't be. This can't be." In a louder, more strident voice, he demanded, "Pull up the last anomalous event, and match these readings to every event previous to it. And put that information on the main screens."  
  
"Aye, sir," the navigator replied, his solid fingers flying across the console. In a matter of moments, data was scrolling across the holographic screen in four different quadrants around the console.  
  
"There!" shouted the officer, pointing one granite finger at the holographic display. "Navigator, stop the scroll and overlap the sources!"  
  
The navigator complied, smoothly merging several data streams into one large, composite stream. Highlighted numbers blinked rapidly, indicating complete convergence at a certain value.  
  
The officer in charge leaned forward, his helmet ablaze with light as he recognized the signal -  
  
- the Time Lord.   
  
The destroyer of his race. The murderer of his people. The slayer of his children, his wife, his family. The slaughterer of millions. She was there, on the planet below him, waiting for capture -  
  
--or death.  
  
"Death it is!" he snarled aloud, his eyes fixed on the numbers in front of him. "Navigator, take a reading on the current location of the anomalous energy reading. Continue doing that until the reading comes to rest for approximately 5 standard minutes within a 100 meter radius. Notify me when this happens. "  
  
"Aye, sir," the navigator replied, mystified.  
  
"And you - engineer - you come with me," he ordered crisply, motioning to the equipment next to the comm chair. "Bring these pieces with you. There are more in my quarters - we will stop there and bring them with us."  
  
"Bring them where, sir?"  
  
The officer in charge turned his granite head and regarded the engineer with an unblinking stare. "Why, we're going to the gun bay, engineer. We have some equipment that needs to be tested, and testing very quickly."  
  
"Sir? I don't recall the captain leaving any orders about equipment testing ..."  
  
"Are you questioning me, Lieutenant?"   
  
"No, sir," the officer allowed, shaking his large head. "The captain left you in charge of the ship."  
  
"Fine, then," the officer in charge said with a feral grin. "Let's get moving."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^  
"You ... you ... travel this way? All the time?"  
  
Elyse grinned at Gokuu as she set the coordinates on the control panel. "Yep, we travel this way all the time. It's very comfortable."  
  
"Wow," Gokuu said, gawking around him. Everything was so wide, so spacious, so ... so very white. "Vejiita, why don't we take a look at the rest of the ship -"  
  
"No, baka! No one's going anywhere where I can't see them," the older Saiyan said irritably, glaring at Gokuu. "You just be happy you're here and stay right where you are."  
  
Gokuu sighed and went back to gawking at his surroundings.  
  
Trunks and Gohan were standing side by side next to Elyse as she ran the control panel and chattered away, showing them everything they ever needed to know about running a TARDIS through local weather and time streams.  
  
"...and see this little thing? We can always tell exactly where we are, because this keeps our position relative to Gallifrey ..."  
  
Trunks and Gohan were smiling and nodding politely, but neither truly understood what Elyse was saying. Piccolo was standing near the TARDIS front door, watching everything and saying nothing.   
  
Dron and Allyssa tried to squeeze past the control console and through the doorway that led to the rest of the TARDIS, only to be thwarted by Vejiita. The muscular Saiyan had positioned himself in front of the door on the opposite side of the console room, correctly assuming it was an entrance to the rest of the vessel, Theo laying literally at his feet.  
  
"Please ... let us pass. If you give me Theo, I can have her lay down somewhere more comfortable than the floor of this room. You can come with us, to make sure we don't do anything you don't like." Allyssa hated asking the Saiyan for anything at all; but she wanted Theo to be treated well, so she swallowed her pride and asked.  
  
"No," he said, glaring at her. "She stays here, right on the floor where I put her. And you're going to stay where I can see you. No running off into another section of this vessel. Now back off."  
  
Sullenly she complied, scowling blackly at the prince, moving over toward Elyse and the control panel. Dron followed, backing away from Vejiita.  
  
Gokuu wandered over and stood next to Vejiita, still staring at the dimensions of the room. Vejiita shook his head and sighed, thinking it's a good think Kakarotto wasn't born earlier than he was - he probably would have been a technician and single-handedly responsible for the fall of the Saiyan kingdom.   
  
"Why is the ship bigger on the inside than the outside?" Gokuu wondered.  
  
"Because it's transcendentally dimensional," Elyse replied with a smile. "This is a TARDIS - that means "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space" machine."  
  
"Oh," Gokuu said, digesting that information.  
  
Time? Vejiita thought to himself, keeping his face expressionless as he watched the young Guardian at the controls. This is a time machine? The Guardians travel through time?   
  
He glanced down at Theo, a sardonic smile playing around his lips. Heh ... you do have a lot of explaining to do, woman. You never told me you could time travel.  
  
"Vejiita ..." Gokuu started hesitantly, turning his head toward the prince, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I ask you something?"   
  
The other Saiyan sighed and looked at him with exasperation, sliding his gaze over Gokuu. "What is it?"  
  
Gokuu nodded toward Theo's body curled up on the tiles of the floor. "I heard her outside."  
  
Vejiita snorted. "Well? What of it? We all heard her, baka. We aren't deaf."  
  
Gokuu continued, ignoring Vejiita's jibes. "She called you ouji-sama, Vejiita. How'd she know you were a prince?"  
  
Vejiita was momentarily surprised. So, he does think sometimes ... "Heh. Because I know her, baka," Vejiita replied irritably, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.   
  
"But Vejiita - how do you know her?" Gokuu pressed, scratching his head, perplexed.   
  
Vejiita's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he glared at Gokuu. "Is it any of your business how I know her? Or how she knows me?"  
  
"No, I suppose not," Gokuu said with equanimity. "But it sure is curious ..."  
  
Turning back to stare at Theo, the prince said, almost to himself, "I was a child at the time. Before the destruction of our planet. Before Freeza-" The expression in Vejiita's eyes was distant, as if he was seeing something from years past; he shook his head, stared down at the Guardian on the floor and prodded her gently with his foot. "I thought she had died with the rest of them."  
  
"With the rest of wh-," Gokuu started, but was cut off by Vejiita's frown and his sudden question. "And why are you here, woman?" he snapped at Allyssa as he caught her gazing at him. "Why did you come to this planet?"  
  
"Don't you remember?" she replied in a surly voice, her green eyes glaring at Vejiita. "Elyse explained everything - we came here on vacation."  
  
Any response Vejiita would have made to Allyssa was forestalled by the stirring of Theo at his feet.  
  
*^*^*^*^^*^*^  
  
Oh, my god, I was hit by a train ...  
  
Pain roiled around her body, enough pain so that she sought the elusive safety and comfort of unconsciousness - but her psyche hunted in vain. Her body was not cooperating, and she was stuck in that twilight world immediately before awakening.  
  
... and it ran over my chest and cut my head in two ...  
  
She felt every muscle in her body, and each one had its own peculiar twinge. Working with power always left her feeling weak and achy, especially if she didn't work with her mother or Stranna; but never in her entire life could she remember channeling so much power. Now it felt like the backwash from a blast furnace had ripped through her body and mind and scoured her clean, purifying her.  
  
... after setting my lungs on fire.   
  
For what, she didn't know, and it made little difference; the pain was all the same, no matter the reason. Purified or no, she was still left feeling burnt and empty, throbbing with remembered agony. It felt as if fire had run through her chest, down her arms and lanced from her fingertips, leaving nothing but a blistered path in its wake.  
  
Some foreign object was thumping into a soft part of her body with an insistence that was irritating. As she rose toward full consciousness, part of her was vaguely curious - her grifton should have started the psychic healing process by this time, and here she was, still in pain. And take that nasty thing away from my side, too, she thought, aggravated.   
  
But there was no answer to her silent call. Oh, well .. where is .... where ...? At first puzzled, and then frantic, she reached out to find ... nothing. The warm, comfortable, reassuring presence that had been closeted in the back of her mind since she reached puberty was gone.   
  
No ... this can't be happening, she thought in desperation, groping in the blackness for something that had vanished. A brief memory sputtered in her mind, one of strings, thousands and thousands of strings hanging in the air ...  
  
She opened her eyes a scant centimeter, trying to determine where she was and who was with her. Suddenly a white booted foot swung directly in front of her and thudded into her abdomen, causing her to gasp in surprise, her eyes opening wide.  
  
"Ah, you're awake now," a masculine baritone said. "Good."   
  
Suddenly Theo's head was yanked up from the floor as long fingers threaded through her hair. A whimpered protest died on her lips as she found herself staring helplessly at Vejiita, his face centimeters away from hers.  
  
"I like my property awake and alert," the prince said, a mocking smile playing around his lips. He watched her reaction, his fingers firmly splayed about her head, supporting her weight, as he said, "Get up, woman - and pay attention to your master. You have a lot of explaining to do." 


	16. What's Mine is Mine

Time Warriors Chapter 16  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Theo was so horror-struck that she initially couldn't speak.   
  
...master? My master? A vision of herself with a wide golden collar floated in front of her eyes. Oh, no ... not again ...  
  
Of course again, the voices in her head snickered, sing-songing their maliciousness. We told you, we told you, your master's come to claim you...  
  
Theo stared into Vejiita's face, a cold, sinking feeling gripping her stomach, the blood pounding through her veins. "What do you mean - 'master?'" she croaked, protesting, her hands fastening around his wrist at the back of her neck, trying to relieve the pressure on her scalp. "I'm not your property -"  
  
"Hm," Vejiita taunted, lifting her up by the back of her head like a scruffy dog as she lurched to her feet. "I'd say that you are. In fact, you've belonged to me for quite some time now. About - what? Thirty-five years or so?"   
  
He held her at arm's length and looked her up and down, critically assessing her body. Theo blushed and wiggled as he examined her; her arms were behind her head, giving him an excellent view of the contours of her torso. As his eyes caught hers, her face turned crimson and she tore her gaze away, dropping it to the floor, cursing him under her breath.   
  
"Hn," he grunted as he looked at her. A sadistic smile quirked the corners of his mouth as he said, "Good to see that you've tried to keep yourself in shape." Nodding, he took his free hand and moved it a hand's breadth away from Theo, watching her shy away from his touch. A shrewd look danced in his eyes as he deliberately prodded her side and belly, commenting matter-of-factly, "Too soft here, though. You need conditioning. I'll take care of that."  
  
"Don't you dare touch me, you - ahh!"  
  
His hand tightened cruelly in her curls as he shook her, his eyes bright and fierce. "Still as stubborn and defiant as ever, aren't you, Guardian? Listen well then," Vejiita threatened, pulling her close, "as this is the last time I will say this. You belong to me - I own you. You are mine, your soul is mine, and you have been mine ever since the day we met. I will do whatever I want with you - and you will do whatever I tell you, whenever I tell you to do it. Do you understand?"  
  
Theo glared at him, powerless. "NO! I am not property!" she protested, grimacing in pain. "I belong to-"  
  
Me, woman. You belong to ME.   
  
Theo's words were cut off as Vejiita expanded and moved in her mind. No longer content to simply communicate, the prince threw his essence into her mind, pushing down, around and through her psyche and claiming every synapse and nerve as his own, his strength and will hundreds of times stronger than she remembered.   
  
I remember how to do this, Guardian - we've danced like this before -   
  
Gasping, Theo struggled against him, trying to force him out and away from her nerve centers - but he was simply too strong, too authoritative, much too overwhelming, coming from everywhere at the same time. She was mentally surrounded by the prince on all sides, pinioned, his psyche overpowering hers completely.  
  
You are mine without question, Guardian.  
  
The other people in the control room held their breath as they watched Vejiita and Theo, most of them expecting the worst. Elyse's hands hovered over her keyboard, her face stretched with anxiety; Gohan and Trunks stood next to her at the console, unsure of what to do. Allyssa and Dron watched the scene from across the room - it was obvious that the only reason Allyssa hadn't attacked the Saiyan prince was Dron's white-knuckled grip on her upper arm, holding her back. Gokuu was the closest to Vejiita; his body was tense and ready to leap to Theo's defense, and he was clearly upset.   
  
"Why is your otousan holding Mama like that? Why is he saying all those awful things to her? What does he mean, he 'owns' her?" Elyse whispered to Trunks, watching with wide, troubled eyes.   
  
"I don't know," Trunks muttered back to her, staring at his father's muscular back, hoping he didn't break the woman's neck.  
  
"Hey, Vejiita -"  
  
Miserable, Theo averted her eyes from Vejiita's glare, thinking gods, I can't even attack him unless -  
  
I wouldn't recommend anything like that, Guardian. Nor would I recommend trying to kill anyone in this craft. If you disobey me ... I will show you no mercy whatsoever.  
  
Color spread across her cheeks in waves as she immediately looked up at the Saiyan prince, realizing her private thoughts were private no more. She was still, docile in his grip, but her expression held the hostility, rage and the beginning of despair that colored her thoughts. You can't do this to me ...  
  
He held her gaze with his own, seeing the tumult in her mind, and replied, of course I can. I'm doing it now. Your power is nothing without control and discipline, and neither are you And you know it.   
  
Confused, she broke contact and looked away.  
  
Gokuu was caught up in the surging mental stream created by Theo and Vejiita. The currents running in the air between them were electric, strong enough to cause the hair on the back of his arms to bristle and make the back of his head itch. The prince, though, was obviously the stronger of the two; Theo didn't stand a chance against his physical strength. With that, Gokuu decided that he had seen enough - there was no need for the prince to manhandle the woman any longer. He stepped next to the smaller Saiyan and reached across for Theo, saying, "Look, Vejiita, let her go. She can't hurt you - you've proved your point. I can't let you -"  
  
Vejiita's free arm unerringly found the middle of Gokuu's chest and sent the hapless Saiyan sailing across the ship with a hard punch. He crashed into the back wall of the TARDIS, striking it with a loud *thud*. The back of Gokuu's head bounced off the wall with some force and smacked the wall again; he staggered and blinked, completely surprised.  
  
"Leave it alone, Kakarotto," the prince admonished, pointedly staring at Gokuu. "This does not concern you in the least. This woman and I have unfinished business that has nothing to do with you -" and he glared generally at the room around him, warning everyone away - "nor anyone else here."  
  
Gokuu gave in and closed his mouth, pushing himself away from the hull of the ship, watching his friend with a troubled air. "Well, okay, but - but don't hurt her, Vejiita. I won't let you hurt her."  
  
Vejiita glared at Gokuu for a long moment, then turned his full attention back to Theo. He smirked and deliberately shifted his hand on the back of her head to a more comfortable position, watching her as a lion watched its captured prey.  
  
Her eyes widened a bit at his movement; she realized he was going to physically keep her prisoner, that the light restraint of his hand could turn to iron in a moment. At the same time Vejiita pulled his awareness from the foreground into the far corners of her mind. His essence was muted and faint, completely in the background of her thoughts - but she knew that this, too, could change in an instant.   
  
He's trying to intimidate me, she thought, staring at him.   
  
And he's doing a fabulous job, isn't he? the voices in her head snickered back at her.  
  
"Now - I'm curious. Tell me how you and your friends escaped Vejiitasei. And don't bother to lie," he said, watching her expression. "If you survived, I know the rest of your wretched lot did, too. You couldn't get all of you into a space pod - so did you use a vessel like this one? A time machine that looked like something else?"   
  
Theo gawked at him, stunned. "A - vessel like this one? A time machine?" she repeated stupidly. Her gaze darted over Vejiita's shoulder to the textured white walls behind him as she drew a shaky breath. Kami, she thought, feeling betrayed. ...I didn't even realize - we're in the TARDIS ...and he knows it's a time machine? how...?  
  
Vejiita favored her with a sardonic look and a tug at her hair. "You heard me, Guardian. Don't act so surprised - and answer my question. Was it a machine that was like this one - something that looked different on the outside?"  
  
Theo's silence and horrified expression was all the confirmation Vejiita needed. He chuckled, still clutching her hair in his hand.  
  
"I see. Heh - that's certainly useful to know." He brought his free hand to her face, took her chin and tipped it to the side, running his fingers possessively along her jawbone. "I always thought you people were smarter than you allowed," he murmured to himself, nodding. "That's good - that's very good."  
  
Fighting down her initial impulse - yanking her head away from his hand and spitting in his face - Theo stood still, her breath coming in quick pants, her eyes rolling back slightly, and suffered his touch. Her reaction was not lost on Vejiita.   
  
A slow, deliberate smile crossed his lips as he turned her head and stroked that side of her jaw with his fingers as well. "You have other uses, too, Guardian - other than being decorative, that is. That power of yours, for example - controlled, and in the right hands, it could be exactly what this universe needs."  
  
Her eye rolled toward him, widening in shock. He smiled mockingly at her, nodding his head.  
  
"Oh, yes - that controlled power is exactly what the universe needs. And your ship!" he continued, looking around, "ah, your ship is quite valuable. A vessel that travels through time, can disguise itself based on its surroundings AND is larger on the inside than the outside? Can you imagine an army of machines like that? Or the armies they could contain?"  
  
Abject horror shone from her face as she tried to shake her head. No, no, no ... you can't mean ..  
  
"Heh - you, your power and your ship will come in very handy." The prince grinned at her, his eyes sparkling with malicious glee. "In ways I'm sure you can't possibly imagine."   
  
In ways I ... he's going to use me to ... The old sickness and fear of her dreams churned through her as she jerked her head back, twisted in his grip and shouted, "No - I will not! We're not on Vejiitasei anymore, barbarian - you can't do this! Take your hands off me!"   
  
Part of her mind wailed what are you doing, fool? Attack anyone, and he'll murder you where you stand -   
  
Fine. Then I'll be dead, she thought bitterly. Much better than this living hell I'm in - giving him access to everything in the universe -   
  
"You can't stop me, Saiyan!"  
  
Snarling in hatred, Theo heedlessly drew wellspring power from her source and drilled into Vejiita's mind, catching him off guard. Aiming precisely at his frontal lobe, Theo flung a quick burst of chi there and pulled at his motor center. Firing randomly, his neurons short circuited his gross motor functions - and the prince lost control over the large muscles in his arms and legs, released her hair and with a yelp of surprise fell on the floor of the TARDIS, his body twitching spasmodically.  
  
Hit him again, hit him hit him hit him, her mind sang, do it quick, quick, quick before he recovers...  
  
"Otousan!" Trunks cried from the other side of the TARDIS console. "Otousan, what's wrong?"  
  
Theo stood over the prince, her eyes almost as black as his. Another chi burst to another part of his brain left him convulsing in earnest on the floor, his body shuddering uncontrollably, guttural noises tumbling from his throat.  
  
"Vejiita! Vejiita, what's happening to you?"  
  
Once more, just one more time ... stop his heart, crush his lungs, kill him, kill him, kill him ...  
  
"Otousan!" Trunks leaped over the console and flew straight at Vejiita and Theo.  
  
Turning toward the sound of rushing air, Theo saw Trunks in mid-flight, his youthful face contorted with alarm and dismay, power crackling around his hands.   
  
Does he know it's me? He's coming, it doesn't matter, get rid of him now! Theo thought in panic, watching the demi-Saiyan move as if in slow motion Hit him hard, do it now - no time, just do it! She called more power from the wellspring, fashioned it into a probe and hurled it at Trunks' mind in a matter of milliseconds - where it shattered back at her into a thousand psychic images, leaving the boy undamaged.  
  
"Damn!" she gasped, battered in a backwash of energy. What...?  
  
Too late, Theo saw the protective mesh covering the Saiyan boy's mind like a fine, bright net, shielding him from coercive psychic attacks.  
  
No, Mama, no! I won't let you hurt him - I won't let you! He saved me from those awful things on the planet - he's beautiful, Mama, beautiful - not evil at all ... why did you -  
  
"ELYSE!" she howled as she dove sideways and rolled on her shoulder to escape the boy's charge. "Elyse - gods, how could you?"  
  
I had to, Mama, she heard faintly. He's not evil ...  
  
Theo twisted, looked over her shoulder and felt fear stab her in the stomach- Vejiita was slowly rolling onto his side facing her, his eyes wide and staring, his pupils dilated. Gokuu was behind him on his knees, shouting his name into his ear; Trunks was at his feet, massaging his calves, urging him to get up. The Saiyan prince was exerting iron control over his body as he pushed himself up on one arm with his eyes still unfocused and staring.   
  
*^*^^*^*^  
  
"Otousan!" Trunks shouted as he landed in a heap about Vejiita's feet. "Otousan! What happened?"  
  
"I don't know what's wrong with him!" Gokuu protested as he kneeled in back of the prince, shaking the smaller man's shoulder and rocking his body back and forth. "Vejiita - Vejiita! What happened?"  
  
Grimly the prince forced himself to stay conscious. He had anticipated that she would attack him - had, in fact, tried to provoke her to do just that - but had no idea how ferocious she truly was. Theo had come very close to ending his life; if not for his son, he probably would be dead.  
  
And when the teenager had leaped to his father's defense, she had tried to kill him, too. It was Theo's daughter, of all people, who had protected Trunks from her mother's assault. The irony of the situation was not lost on him.  
  
Now, as his bodily functions started to come under his control again, a slow, savage fury toward Theo seared across his mind.   
  
You disobeyed me, woman, the prince thought as he pushed himself up on one nerveless arm, his eyes dim and unfocused. You tried to kill me and mine. A good try, but not good enough. He smirked dangerously as his eyes focused on Theo's lithe form struggling to escape.   
  
It's time for me to teach you how to behave.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Oh, shit - I've got to get out of here ...  
  
Abruptly she started to feel small twinges and tweaks along the long spinal nerve in her back, coupled with a dark, forbidding something that was rising out of the recesses of her psyche, flowing smoothly across her power conduit, denying her access -  
  
Terrified, Theo's hands shook as she thought he's going to kill me. Panting, she found herself next to the doorway that opened into the body of the ship. Heaving herself off the deck, she grabbed for the handle that would release the door and allow her to escape into the depths of the TARDIS - the shielding and distance would save her from-  
  
Oh no you DON'T ...  
  
It was as if a large bubble had burst. Theo collapsed on the floor in a screaming paroxysm of pain, every nerve and synapse in her body ablaze - something had exploded in her mind with the force of a supernova. She saw bright, shooting lights in front of her eyes, and now knew nothing other than her world began and ended in fire; her only desire was that someone or something, somewhere, would stop the agony. Her brain felt as though it would shatter - he was pushing from the inside out, stripping her raw, ripping and tearing her apart with his scorching breath, burning every square centimeter of skin.  
  
I warned you, woman. I told you not to try to kill anyone.  
  
It went on and on and on, one wave after another, pulsing and cresting. Every time Theo thought that she had reached her limit, another wave would crash on top of her, proving there was yet another level of agony to endure.  
  
"Please, ouji-sama - please, please, please stop!" she shrieked, rolling from side to side on the floor, trying to do something, anything to stop the boiling pain streaming down her body. "I won't do it again, I promise I won't, ouji, please, please, make it stop!"  
  
Vejiita stood over her body, his arms folded and face impassive as he watched her writhe and scream at his feet. "I'm sure you won't," he said. "I'm quite sure you won't do anything remotely like that again."  
  
"Ma-MA!" Elyse screamed. She tried to leap across the console to get to her mother, but Gohan's strong arm prevented her from going anywhere.  
  
"No," he hissed in her ear, "leave them. This is between the two of them."  
  
"But he's killing her!" Elyse sobbed, twisting and punching alternately at Gohan's arm. "Let me go, let me go, I have to go to her!"  
  
"He won't kill her," Gohan said, narrowing his eyes as he remembered other times with the prince. "But she will wish she was dead."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
The torment refused to stop; instead, it flowed over, around and through Theo, touching every part of her, body and soul. She had tried to crawl to the wellspring in her mind but was slapped away by a dark, looming presence that guarded the entrance. Whimpering, she tried again with the same result - except that this time, the presence slapped her harder and carelessly tossed her into another section of her own mind.  
  
It was becoming extremely clear that she had no control over either her body or her psyche.  
  
"Ouji, please, please, stop," she sobbed brokenly, clutching alternately at her midsection and her head, trying vainly to seek some relief to her suffering and finding none.  
  
Vejiita stood facing the doorway that lead into the body of the TARDIS, his back to the rest of the people in the control room. His expression was tight and closed, his eyebrows drawn together in a scowl, and he said absolutely nothing as he watched Theo writhe on the floor.  
  
Do you think you're ready to behave now, woman? Can I trust you not to try to kill anyone?  
  
The rest of the people, too, were frozen in place, completely bewildered and appalled. Bewildered, because there was no true physical fighting - neither combatant had touched the other; and appalled, because it was obvious that Theo was in massive pain that she attributed to Vejiita.  
  
"What's going on, Trunks?" Gokuu asked. All his instincts were screaming at him to knock Vejiita down and cradle Theo in his arms, to make her pain disappear - but another part of his mind kept him in place. This woman and I have unfinished business that has nothing to do with you, Vejiita had said to him - and gauging by the expression on his face, he had been totally serious.  
  
"I - don't know," Trunks replied, his voice strained. Otousan, please don't make her suffer any more,   
he sent, distressed. You will kill her.  
  
His father's head turned slightly so that one eye glared at Trunks. Keep your opinions to yourself, boy, he sent, glowering at him. And make sure those bakas around you do not come near me.  
  
Trunks briefly inclined his head, acknowledging his response. Yes, otousan. I will.  
  
Vejiita looked down at Theo - she was hoarse from screaming, but continued to whimper and moan at his feet, a huddled, broken mess with waves of trembling pulsing down her back. He uncrossed his arms, went down on one knee and touched her sweat-soaked forehead, brushing away damp, straggling curls.  
  
That's enough, woman. It's time to talk.  
  
A cold, clear presence fused inside her. It touched several parts of her mind at once, cooling the inferno throughout her body, bringing some blessed relief, allowing her to think coherently once more. She stopped screaming, calming herself to the point where she simply lay panting and hitching on the floor by his feet, her legs drawn up, enduring her mind's remembered agony.  
  
Woman, you try my patience to the limit. Do you imagine yourself stronger than me? Open your eyes.   
  
She slitted her eyes against the interior lights and focused on the face in front of her. "Ouji-sama," she whispered through cracked, dry lips.   
  
His fingers lingered against her brow, then traced a path down the side of her cheek, brushing away the dampness of her tears, and lifted her chin so she could not avoid his gaze.  
  
Who is your master, Guardian?  
  
She stared into his eyes a long moment, her own roiling with dark, turbulent color - and abruptly felt something inside of her crumble and break. He felt it too, she knew - and he held her eyes, controlling her, demanding an answer to his question.  
  
Theo swallowed and tried to look away, but Vejiita would not permit it - he held her chin tightly in one hand and leaned over her.  
  
"Say it," he commanded. "Tell me, and tell me now."  
  
"It's - it's you, ouji-sama. You," Theo whispered, completely defeated. "You are my master."  
  
A satisfied smile crossed his face as he looked at her. "Good, Guardian. Very good. And that means what, exactly?"  
  
He still refused to let go of her chin, and instead forced her to look at him while she spoke. "That ... I will do whatever you tell me to do, whenever you tell me to do it," she said, her voice low.  
  
"And what else?" he prodded.  
  
Theo frowned and shook her head, not understanding. Vejiita stared at her, his black gaze boring into hers until he was satisfied that she actually had no idea what he wanted.  
  
"Since you don't know, I'll tell you," he said almost pleasantly. He tucked his hands under her armpits and dragged her to her feet in front of him. She stood there swaying, clutching his arm for balance before pitching into him, her eyes locked on his.  
  
"I am your master," he said to her, also giving her a mental shake. "You are mine. You belong to me. I do not give up anything that is mine - ever."  
  
He stared at her for a long moment, allowing his words to sink in. Then he held her right arm, turned and beckoned to Allyssa, raising his voice and saying, "You - woman. She needs to be cleaned up - and you wanted to do that before. Take her back into the other part of this ship and see to it."  
  
Tearing her arms out of Dron's grip, Allyssa bounded across the floor and nearly collided with Theo in her haste to get to her. Scooping the other woman into her arms and pushing a nearly-fainting Theo toward the doorway to the rest of the TARDIS, she turned and snarled at Vejiita, "You're a monster, you know that? A sadistic monster! You and all your scurvy friends who allowed this to happen to her. You should ALL be food for the Gonarch, you horrible, vicious, self-serving son of a -"  
  
"Just get her cleaned up and back here in the next 10 minutes," Vejiita interrupted, glaring at Allyssa. "Don't try my patience any more than it already has been."  
  
Allyssa closed her mouth and glowered at Vejiita as she hurried Theo through the door. 


	17. Dangerous

Time Warriors Chapter 17  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
He stole it - he stole it right out of my soul, and he kept it, and he won't give it back... he took a piece of my soul from me and refuses to give it back...  
  
I will have it back, or die trying ...  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Allyssa grabbed Theo by the shoulders and hustled her through the doorway and out of the control room as fast as humanly possible, glaring at the Saiyan prince and the rest of his company on the way.   
  
Get her out, get her moving, get her away from that monster - do it now before he changes his mind...  
  
"...'lyssa," Theo managed, rasping the sound out of a throat hoarse from screaming. "...'lyssa ..." She stumbled against the wall, her eyes red rimmed and fever bright, hair damp with perspiration plastered against her forehead and cheeks in tight, sweaty ringlets, her body still shaking with reaction.  
  
"Shhh - don't talk, Theo," Allyssa murmured, her arm wrapped protectively around the smaller woman as she herded her down the hallway toward the opposite end of the TARDIS. "I'm getting you the hell out of here."  
  
Whispered sounds scratched their way out of the Guardian's throat again as she shook her head. "No. Listen. Can't leave. Must ... protect Elyse. Get Aunt Stranna - tell her -"  
  
...find her... tell her I need her...  
  
"No worries, dear," Allyssa said grimly, pulling the smaller woman closer to her as they hurried down the hall, her green eyes snapping in anger as a vein pulsed in her throat. "That's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to get your mother, and that bastard's going to pay for what he-"   
  
"Not Mama," Theo breathed, leaning heavily on Allyssa as she shuffled next to her, "...Aunt Stranna." Her eyes looked odd - wide and unfocused with color swirling slowly, her gaze turned inward, seeing something appalling. "Can't talk - he's active. You know where-"  
  
"Yes, I do," Allyssa interrupted, snagging a better grip on her friend as she pushed her to move faster. "We'll get whoever you want. Don't think about it. Don't visualize it - I'll handle it. It's dangerous for you to think about things when -" and she stopped, choosing her words carefully, not wanting to trigger a cascade of memories for her, "-when your thoughts can be overheard. You must be cautious."  
  
Run, run, get away from the control room, away from the gates of hell ...  
  
Theo was panting; short, quick breaths lifted her shoulders in rapid succession, her face grimacing in misery. "I know - I know. I'm trying to fight, Allyssa. But - gods. I - I couldn't throw him out, he was too strong, so much stronger than I remember. And he ..." Her breath caught in her throat and her grip tightened on Allyssa's arm.  
  
"Shh, now," the Gant comforted her, the warrior woman's mouth drawn in a tight line of fury. If I do nothing else, I'm going to make sure she's as far away from that beast as possible. "Not much longer - we're almost there ..."  
  
They disappeared noiselessly through one of the many doors lining the hallway.  
  
*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Complete and absolute silence blanketed the TARDIS control room; it was so quiet that the faint whirring of the electronic in the central column was audible.  
  
Idiot woman - why did you attack me? Why did you attack him? You knew I'd have to hurt you ...  
  
The Saiyan prince scowled, his arms folded across his chest and his expression closed and forbidding. Despite his appearance, though, he was reeling from the events of the last hour. As incredible as it seemed, the woman who had freed his mind from its moorings when he was a child, the person who had unwittingly opened his soul to authentic mind-to-mind combat and communication was very much alive - and, apparently, still bound to him.   
  
Vejiita was not the same person who had taken possession of her many years ago. That child had died and been quickly replaced by another, more hardened Saiyan, one that was able to withstand the cruelty and brutality of the culture he had been thrown into - that of the court of Freeza, the lizard tyrant. Ironically enough, it had been that glimpse into the world of psychic power that had saved the prince on more than one occasion - and it was also that latent psychic talent, along with the arrogance he wore like a shield, that drew the tyrant to Vejiita.  
  
The prince had survived those years by virtue of his quick mind, his incredible power, and an enhanced ability to read his opponents on and off the battlefield. Those skills had stayed with him throughout his life, although his dependence on his psychic abilities lessened as the years passed. He never entirely abandoned them, though, and continued to practice on unsuspecting subjects as the notion struck him.  
  
Subjects such as his wife, Bulma, and that fool of an Earthman, Kuririn.   
  
Now, however, everything was coming back to him with a vengeance, and it had all been triggered by a chance encounter with the very being that had accidentally coaxed his latent abilities to life.   
  
Idiot woman, he thought again, anger at her rebelliousness hot in his mind. You knew what would happen and you did it anyway. I hope you learned something useful ...  
  
He was extremely aware of the various emotional states of the people in the control room. Kakarotto, on the one hand, was just on the edge of a righteous rage; his horror at what he suspected the Saiyan prince had done was only tempered by the knowledge that he had no direct proof. Predictably, Kakarotto's idiot son was in the same state - even more so, as he had that Guardian woman's daughter standing next to him. There was a strange sense of protectiveness and loyalty directed at that woman coming straight from Gohan.  
  
Vejiita closed his eyes briefly in exasperation. How stupid can you be? he thought irritably. I've already explained the danger to you many times over. These people have been fighting this way for centuries...  
  
The Namek was standing next to the wall, saying nothing, as usual. That brought his attention to Theo's daughter, standing stock still next to the tall Saiyan, eyes lowered to the control panel in front of her. Vejiita's glare lingered over her; as he watched, a slow blush moved through her cheeks and her hand were trembling slightly in front of her, but she kept her gaze stubbornly locked on the board. There was no emotional aura surrounding her at all - absolutely nothing - and that told him volumes.   
  
Just like your mother, he thought wryly. Headstrong and insolent, with an iron control over your feelings. I know what you did, though, and how you did it - and that's going to surprise you ...   
  
His son, he was happy to see, was standing back where he had been ordered, lightly holding onto Gokuu's arm. There was confusion and hurt in his gaze, but a strong sense of duty and allegiance toward his father kept him rooted in that spot, holding Gokuu back.  
  
"Vejiita."   
  
Gokuu shrugged off Trunks' restraining hand and stepped over to the other Saiyan, any outward awkwardness and hesitation gone. The teen tried to recapture Gokuu's arm in his grip, but was gently and firmly pushed aside as the larger man planted himself in front of the prince with his arms folded, scowling. He appeared every inch a self-assured Saiyan warrior, one who was influenced enough by the actions of his friend to view him as bordering the wrong side of insanity. "What's going on, Vejiita?"  
  
Vejiita turned, frowning at the larger man, watching Gokuu's transformation from the unassuming Saiyan to a take-charge fighter with a practiced eye. "None of your business, baka - it had nothing to do with you," he shot back.  
  
"No, you're wrong," Gokuu objected, plainly becoming more disturbed as he stood in front of the prince, moving his hands to his hips. "You just made it our business. Why'd you treat her like that? I know you said that she's dangerous and all, but we could've handled her if anything had happened."  
  
If anything had happened? Vejiita sneered to himself, keeping his manner stoic and cold. You mean nothing did?  
  
Gohan nodded vigorously from his position at the control panel. "That's right, otousan - I agree. We could have easily stopped anything Theo started - she's not that big, and neither is her chi. It's much, much smaller than mine or otousan's or yours. So - why?" He frowned, looking intimidating. "I stayed out it this time, Vejiita, but I'm telling you now that there won't be a next time - I'm not going to allow you to treat Theo, or anyone else, that way again. I don't care WHAT your reason is."   
  
"That's right, Vejiita. We stood by this time, just because you and Piccolo said she was dangerous - but nothing happened. I know that I'm not going to stand around anymore."  
  
Unexpectedly, Dron chimed in from the far side of the ship. "Isn't that just great? Nice of you people to decide you're going to help her after the fact," he said sarcastically, glaring at Gokuu and Gohan with a mixture of anger and disgust. "I'm sure she'll feel much better knowing that you jumped in to defend her after she was whipped to a pulp by your friend over there."   
  
Gokuu and Gohan simply looked at him, surprised. Vejiita snapped his head to the side to look at the human as well. Heh, I forgot about you, he thought. The man's emotional control was nearly as complete as the woman's, but the prince imagined he could see streaks of angry red shimmer in his aura every few seconds - and strangely enough, the man's anger wasn't directed at him, but at the others who stood by and watched Theo writhe on the floor.  
  
Interesting, he thought, smirking. Very interesting.  
  
His face set in its familiar scowl as he looked over at the other Saiyans. "You great fools," Vejiita said, his voice tinged with disgust. "Did either one of you listen to a single thing I said before? Did anything I had to say penetrate those genetically thick skulls of yours?"  
  
"You said she was dangerous," Gokuu repeated patiently. "But she didn't do anything to us - I mean, we didn't see anything happen-"  
  
Vejiita rolled his eyes heavenward in frustration. "Kakarotto, listen carefully and don't interrupt. Remember the scores of dead warriors outside this vessel? They're all dead because she killed them with her mind. The woman is a psychic warrior - a psychic fighter - do you understand? You will never see her power as you can see mine, or yours, or your idiot son's, because it simply isn't made that way. Her power is inside her mind - she projects it to other people's minds, where she wreaks havoc by burning their brain from the inside out. Or stopping their hearts. Or doing what she did to kill scores of people at the same time."  
  
Dron rolled away from the door of the TARDIS, shuffled forward until he stood next to the control console near the center of the room, leaned on the machine and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his eyes piercing and cold. "Listen, you," he said, speaking directly to Vejiita, his voice rubbing against his vocal chords like gravel, "I know you can blast me into the middle of next week without as much as a thought - and I'm sure me and my guns are just a big joke to you. But I don't care - I'm going to tell you something you probably don't want to hear. I hate to see anyone maligned like this."  
  
Vejiita regarded him with a frigid stare. "Go on."  
  
"If you're talking about that woman Theo being this all-powerful psychic warrior, then yeah, I agree with you, she's pretty dangerous - but you've missed the whole point. Those animals out there-" and he jerked his head toward the door "-that you keep talking about had kidnapped that woman, did you know that? and they were going to sell her with a bunch of other sorry-ass people to some lousy alien for slave labor, or food, or sport. She used her power to free me, herself and all those other captives - and she didn't kill anyone outright. They did that themselves." Dron spat on the floor in disgust. "Someone should've killed those things long before today."  
  
Vejiita arched his eyebrow, interested. "What did she do?" he asked, watching Dron carefully.  
  
The tech frowned. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think she went into some of the warrior's minds and told them to fight other warriors. She never told them to kill each other, though - she said that was entirely their idea. In fact, she told me she tried to stop them."  
  
Gokuu thought, then said suddenly, "I remember - when we first flew over the area, there were all these bodies - it looked like there had been a war. And it smelled so bad ..."  
  
Dron nodded. "There had been - but it was between those creatures. We tried to escape, but all of a sudden there were more of them dropping out of the sky - and then she did something else that I can't remember -"  
  
"That's very interesting, human," Vejiita interrupted, looking at the man, "because something like that comes up in what I'm about to say." The prince pointedly turned toward Gokuu, fixing him with a piercing stare. "I'm going to give you a little history lesson, Kakarotto, because I'm in the mood to do just that - and because you're being more dense, if possible, than you usually are."  
  
"What are you talking about, Vejiita?" Gokuu asked, confused.   
  
The prince sighed. "Listen, Kakarotto, and listen well. I first met that woman when I was a child - no more than five. Her people were slaves on Vejiitasei; my father found them several years before my birth, hidden on a rock in a backwards system, and relocated as many as he could to our planet. Why? Because of the legends surrounding them - legends of power and immortality and the possibility of attaining them both. My father believed he could tame and control them, and then both the women and their power would be his for the asking."  
  
"Immortality?" Gohan wondered, but a baleful look from the older man silenced him. Vejiita continued, still glaring at the young Saiyan.  
  
"It was a fierce battle - many Elite soldiers died, as did many of their own people - but an invention by a long dead race won the day for us. Large golden collars, controlled by small bursts of chi applied to several areas of the device at once, shut down all psychic emissions from each women. Without that power, they were helpless - you can see they're physically weak -" he said, pointing at Elyse, "and so were pulled from their planet to ours."  
An involuntary shiver went though Elyse's hands at the control board. Vejiita noticed the movement, but chose not to remark on it.  
  
"This woman, Kakarotto - this woman that you so fiercely want to protect - stood in front of one of the Elite common rooms one day and did exactly what that human just described. Totally unprovoked, she stood in an alcove outside the garrison's common room, chose her victims and plunged into the minds of Elite warriors. Without their knowledge or consent, she manipulated something in their brains that made them want to fight and kill each other - and she did this without anyone detecting her presence. Remember, these were warriors that supposedly had been trained to withstand the worst any race could offer - they were Elites, the best and finest of Vejiitasei. Over thirty of them were bested by one small, weak woman who wasn't even fighting.  
  
Do you know what she did, Kakarotto? She whipped those soldiers into such a frenzy that they destroyed that room and each other - they actually blew the wall to bits. She stood there and watched them slay each other, and smiled as they died. And - so that you don't misunderstand - she was wearing the device that supposedly stopped her psychic emissions. She wasn't supposed to be able to do that, Kakarotto, but she did."  
  
He took a deep breath and continued. "The evidence was clear. This woman was a threat to the Saiyan race, and should have been destroyed. I watched this from a small stairway - she had her back to me, and at first it just looked as though she was only watching the fight. But then I felt this itching in the back of my head," and he rubbed his head for emphasis, "itching that wouldn't go away ... do you remember you said the same thing not long ago, Kakarotto? That your head itched?"   
  
Gokuu rubbed the back of his head and frowned, thinking hard.  
  
Vejiita nodded, his eyes narrowed. "Good. Think about it, Kakarotto. Never forget that feeling - it means that she or others like her are wielding their power near you, and can also mean you are being attacked."  
  
Gokuu's eyes widened in shock and recognition. "But Vejiita - I felt that before -"  
  
The prince smiled sourly. "Is it becoming clearer to you, baka? That she's not as innocent as she looks?" As he gathered himself to continue his story, he glanced over at Elyse and almost laughed out loud. The woman's face was flushed and she was breathing rapidly; that iron control he had noticed before had slipped. She was watching Gokuu intently - her eyes had started to change color, from a sky blue to a darker, more somber blue, showing some inner turmoil.   
  
Good, he thought. Let's see how much you can take.  
  
"When I watched her from that alcove, I saw that she wasn't just looking at the action, she was guiding it - and actually enjoying it. Well - I was young and cocky, and had heard all the rumors about those people - and I was curious. So I surprised her." Another mocking smile touched his lips as he remembered. "I gave her a choice - either declare to my father and the rest of the Elites how it was that she could use power without an Elite's permission - and therefore deactivation of at least part of the collar - or show me how she did it. She chose the latter."  
  
Vejiita stared at each of the Earth senshi in turn. "So - here's a woman that, by all accounts, appears completely helpless - can't fly, doesn't run very fast, isn't physically very impressive at all - but she ends of killing scores of people. And she does it without moving a muscle or powering up, the way we do." In one natural motion, Vejiita turned away from Gokuu and pointed accusingly at Elyse, drawing everyone's attention to the adolescent across from him. "I'm sure that's not the first time you've seen that happen, is it?"  
  
Elyse jerked her head away from his hand, her eye color whirling furiously. "That's none of your business, you nasty piece of-"  
  
Vejiita smirked unpleasantly as he stared at her. "Well. I thought as much. Power, coupled with absolute malevolence like your mother's, doesn't stay unused for long." Turning his back on an indignant Elyse to face the other senshi, he snorted, "Now tell me, Kakarotto - even your dim mind should be able to grasp this - exactly how dangerous is a weapon that can strike anytime, anywhere, at anyone, and can't be seen?"  
  
"Pretty dangerous," Gokuu acknowledged, shaking his head.  
  
"So why would you permit this weapon to move around, unsupervised, or even change hands? Aren't you risking other people's lives when you do that?"  
  
"How dare you - my mother's not a weapon - she's not like that at all!" Elyse burst out, her hands clenched in fists and her eyes blazing in fury. "Stop saying things like that, you horrible man - you're the monster, not her! You and - and everyone else here!"   
  
Gohan leaned down toward her, concerned. "No, no, Elyse - we're not your enemies - we're here to help you." She glared and him and drew back.  
  
"So, we're the monsters? Is that right?" Vejiita murmured, turning back to regard the woman behind the control panel. "Then you should tell us what your mother's really like." The senshi collectively turned their attention toward Elyse again.  
  
"Watch what you say, girl," Dron warned, sliding his gaze toward Vejiita. "This one's no friend of yours."  
She is young, isn't she? Vejitta thought, watching the Guardian gather herself to launch a verbal attack against him. Not mature at all. Heh - that's an advantage.  
  
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," Elyse snapped in Dron's direction, never allowing her gaze to waver from Vejiita's. "I don't need anyone's help."  
  
Arrogant, too, the prince thought with amusement as he kept his face expressionless. I'll bet she can't restrain herself when she's angry, either. So much the better...  
  
"I know all about Saiyans," Elyse snarled, staring hard at Vejiita across the instrumentation, "and especially about you, Vejiita ouji. Your name is hated - hated, do you hear me? - among my people. The things the Saiyans, and particularly you, did to my people were abominable." Her anger and hostility peaking, she shoved Gohan out of the way with a surprising strength and stalked around the control panel until she stood in front of the prince, her wrath barely contained. Rage made her eyes sparkle as their color changed and shifted - from maroon to velvet blue to a royal purple streaked with pink, and then back again. She appeared to be a small, compact, red headed fury, standing with her arms akimbo and her legs planted slightly apart, slight tendrils of hued energy licking around them.   
  
The hairs on the back of Gokuu's neck and Gohan's arms stood straight up as the energy potential in the control room slid from slightly more than zero to tremendous in a moment. Trunks' fine lavender hair was floating around his head, as if he was in a static electric storm. Piccolo watched impassively from the side of the control room, his arms folded across his chest. Dron stood next to the control panel, his face set in an emotionless mask.  
  
"I'm ... itching," Gohan murmured, wide-eyed, as he clasped the back of his neck. He looked over at Gokuu and then at Trunks, who both nodded at him in shocked agreement, their hands nervously rubbing the backs of their own necks . Gokuu shifted his large bulk, moving so that he could keep Elyse directly in his line of sight. "It ... it started when she -"   
  
"I know, Gohan," Gokuu said, watching Elyse with his mouth slightly open. "I'm feeling it, too. Vejiita, what do we do? How - how do we know if-"  
  
"Be still, Kakarotto," the prince ordered, a enigmatic expression on his face. "I'll take care of this. You just remember that you're seeing only a small part of the power these women wield."  
  
Gokuu, Gohan and Trunks stood still, watching, feeling extremely uneasy and exposed. Moving, fighting enemies were something that they all understood; but an enemy that didn't move, didn't dodge, and didn't even appear to be fighting was simply ... weird. How could she be an enemy?   
  
Elyse ignored everything Vejiita said to the Earth senshi; instead, she concentrated on the villain in front of her. "I couldn't do anything while you were torturing my mother - and why you did that, Kami only knows - but I can certainly do something now." She glared at the senshi ringed around her, dimly realizing that she was in the center of a circle of Saiyans - do I really know what I'm doing? - and not caring in the least, only wanting to vent her spleen at the man who had hurt her mother.   
  
"You - and everyone else here - are guests on our ship," she bit out, scowling furiously at him. One long, carefully manicured finger jabbed at Vejiita's chest several times, her hand unconsciously swathed in multihued power, trails of energy hovering in the air. "Guests, mind you. But you - you horrid, awful man - tortured and then defamed my mother right in front of me. In front of me!" Her anger seemed to burst out of her eyes as she wrinkled her nose and hissed at him, "Get. Out. Now. You can just drag your ugly Saiyan carcass out of here before I throw you out."  
  
Shocked silence greeted Elyse's command. Dron stood up a little straighter and dropped his hands into his side pockets. Small bulges appeared on the sides of his legs, bulges that had a suspiciously snub-nosed look to them.   
  
I can't believe she said that, the prince thought, stopping himself from laughing out loud. "Are you threatening, me, woman? You are going to throw me out of this vessel?"   
  
"You're damn right I am," Elyse hissed, her eyes appearing even larger than they had been, the color suddenly solidifying to a uniform, impenetrable black. She moved forward until she was inches away from Vejiita, her head slightly tilted up to look into his eyes, her hands loosely dangling from her sides. "Now. Get. Out."  
  
Vejiita threw back his head and roared with laughter, finally controlling himself enough to stare back at her and grin, "No. I'm not leaving. You'll have to throw me out."  
  
A hateful smile whisked across her face as her eyes sparkled at the prince. "Excellent. I was hoping you'd say that," she murmured as she pulled wellspring power into herself, hued lightning crackling and leaping around her arms.  
Vejiita smiled.  
  
Trunks' eyes grew even larger at her display. Any hair in the room that hadn't been standing straight up immediately did so; Elyse's red curls floated gently in the air, waving as though a breath of chi delicately tousled them with sensitive fingers. She was the picture of innocence and beauty as she faced Vejiita - except for her eyes. Her eyes were dark, threatening and deadly, boring into the prince.  
  
Do you see this, bakas? Vejiita sent to the Saiyans, underscoring the difference between her appearance and her true intent. Make sure you remember.  
  
Vejiita folded his arms across his chest and stared at her. "Well?" he asked softly, gesturing at her with one hand. "Ladies first."  
  
Elyse needed no further encouragement. Power surged from her hands as she simultaneously attacked Vejiita mentally and physically, slamming into his mind as hard as she could, trying to force her way in as a large, dazzling fireball lanced from her fingers toward his face and burst in a fiery display.  
  
"'Tousan! Watch out!" cried Gohan as he threw his forearm across his face, shielding it from the blinding light.  
  
As her vision cleared, though, a sense of horror settled around Elyse's heart. There was the prince - not even singed, not even a little - smiling in front of her, while her precious psychic energy ball was spread across the walls of the TARDIS, stray lightning licking up and across the sides of the room.  
  
And she couldn't even pierce the shielding around his mind. It was so strong - it felt like her mother's shield in some way ...  
  
"So - it's my turn now, isn't it?" Vejiita said, grinning at her dismayed expression. Faster than she could see, the prince smoothly placed one hand along the curve of her neck so that his fingers rested on her nape. Elyse gasped and jerked back; however, Vejiita was having none of it and held her firmly in place, his fingers like gloved steel.   
  
"I want to personally thank you for saving my son from your mother. That psychic net was an inspired piece of work - you knew she'd try to kill him, too, didn't you?"  
  
He's ... talking to me? About -? Elyse's body was rigid; she stared up at Vejiita with an unreadable expression. Any residual power licking around her arms faded abruptly. "What ... how ..." she stammered, her curls floating to the side of her face as she swallowed in consternation, " ... how did you know?"  
  
Shuddering, Elyse could still feel the vibrations pulsing through her nerves from the impact of her mother's psychic lance. She was so ... ferocious, Elyse thought, swallowing. If I hadn't thrown the net over him, the boy would've been dead. Very, very, dead. How did he know about that?  
  
"Well, really," Vejiita chided, moving his fingers from the nape of her neck to the juncture of her skull and spine, "it was obvious. Your mother was trying to kill me; my son was trying to protect me, and when she turned toward him, her intent was clear. It was your net that protected him against her attack, and that gave me enough time to recover."  
  
"But," she started, confused, "I never-"  
  
"No - you never said anything," Vejiita agreed as his fingers unerringly found the hollow at the base of her skull and pushed gently. "But you didn't have to say a word. I can see there's something that your mother didn't share with you - and it's obvious you need to know."  
  
The Saiyan looked directly at the young woman, his fingers exploring the contours of the base of her head as he accessed her psyche.  
  
Your mother and I are linked - she is my psychic, and has been since I was very young. I know exactly what she does, when she does it, and who she's doing it with - and I don't tolerate any insubordination on her part. Ask her if you don't believe me.   
  
A sadistic smile spread across his face as he watched her expression. And yes, I can communicate mind to mind with you. That was a gift to me from your mother. I'd imagine that since she's my psychic, you must be mine, too - by extension. What do you think?  
  
His mental voice reverberated smoothly inside her head, resonating along pathways usually reserved for her family and friends - and here was this alien, this Saiyan, talking with her as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world to have him inside her mind ...  
  
Elyse gasped and slapped Vejiita's hand away from her neck, backing away from him and into the TARDIS control console in shock, shaking her head in emphatic denial.   
  
Also, the prince's mental voice continued, that was the first and last opportunity to attack me that you'll ever have. Don't be a fool like your mother - if you try something like that again, you will most certainly live to deeply regret it.  
  
Elyse stared at Vejiita with wide, terrified eyes, desperately erected smooth mental walls around her mind, and scuttled to the opposite side of the control console. A heavy sense of guilt and grief was pushing down on her psyche as she put as much physical distance between the prince and herself as possible. Oh, gods, Mama, what did I do ...  
  
"No," she panted, staring at him, dismay and alarm plainly written across her face. "That's not right - you can't do that - no one told me -"  
  
Vejiita smirked at her. "I'm sure no one told you. There's a lot about me and your mother that you don't know."   
  
"Why don't you leave the kid alone, buddy?" Dron said, moving his body between Vejiita and Elyse. "She's upset enough without you pushing at her. Anything else is just cruel."  
  
"Shut up and mind your own business," Vejiita said evenly, staring at Dron until the spacer lowered his gaze. The prince stood his ground and smirked again. "Well?" he demanded, looking from Gokuu to Gohan to Trunks, ignoring the Namek in the background. "Are you convinced? Or do you need to see more?"  
  
"No, Vejiita, I believe you," Gokuu said heavily, looking at Elyse in sorrow and shaking his head. "But what're we gonna do? I dunno how to stop someone who attacks like that -"  
  
"Well, Gokuu - you can see something happening around her hands and arms when she's doing something with her power," ventured Trunks, blinking at his father, "so if one of us stayed with her all the time while she's here, then we'd be able to see what they were doing, and everything would be all right." Trunks finished and looked around at he three older senshi, a small shred of hope in his voice.  
  
Vejiita and Gokuu exchanged glances and frowned. "We'll have to do something like that, Trunks," Gokuu said finally, looking back at the adolescent. "Right now, I just don't know what that'll be - but whatever it is, they're gonna hafta stay with us."  
  
"Permanently," Vejiita said, his matter-of-fact manner more threatening than any bluster.  
  
Elyse gaped at Vejiita, leaning on her elbows, not believing what she just heard. Permanently? What does he mean, permanently? He's not expecting that we'll - live - with him, is he? As she tried to absorb this latest shock, she looked down at the control board and audibly sucked in her breath.  
Oh, no, Mama ...  
"Look - don't worry - I'm sure he didn't mean-" Gohan started, solicitous again as he bent toward her.  
Elyse shrank back against the control panel, her hands flat on the board. "I - I don't understand - really, I-"   
  
Another pair of hands larger than hers deftly lifted hers off the board and spun Elyse around. An inconspicuous yellow light was flashing next to a label, neatly stenciled, that read, "Aux Control Room Power" - and next to the light was a small holograph of a woman murmuring, "Transfer in progress - seventy-five percent complete."  
  
Vejiita stared straight into her eyes and gave her his dangerous, killing smile as he quietly said, "You will take us to this other control room - and you will do it quickly, or else I will destroy you, your mother and this vessel completely. Now."  
  
Elyse stood for an interminable moment, swallowed and finally nodded. "Hai," she whispered. "This way." 


	18. Enemies From the Past

Time Warriors Chapter 18  
  
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All good designers always make sure that any office they build, any home they construct or any craft they manufacture has more than one entrance - in fact, multiple entrances and exits are a safety requirement. Who knows when an emergency will render an entrance/exit completely unusable?  
  
Lurching through the myriad hallways and corridors of their spacecraft, Allyssa was thanking every god and Kami she could remember that Theo's TARDIS had such a back door in it, and that Theo remembered where it was. In the maze of corridors, hallways and rooms that was Theo's TARDIS, that effort, all by itself, was no mean feat.  
  
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"Thank Kami we made it here, Theo - I thought we were lost for sure. I didn't remember going through the greenhouse to get here ..."  
  
"That's why we put it over here," Theo mumbled as she staggered into the room, her hair straggling around her face. "So that we wouldn't forget it. Aunt Stranna always said that you needed something to jog your memory about aux control, and putting it next to the greenhouse reminded me of ~Silent Running~ ... which is what I figured I'd end up doing if I ever needed to use it ... and look at that, I was right ..."  
  
Theo and Allyssa stumbled into the auxiliary control room of Theo's TARDIS, a room that was an exact duplicate of the main control room, down to the smallest detail - except that instead of white, the predominant color was a mixture of smoky mauve and a subtle blue. All the same equipment was there, though - the octagonal control console that surrounded the central column was configured exactly the same, as was the translucent central column, the heart of the TARDIS' engine.  
  
Allyssa closed the door behind her, carefully noting its location in the wall; once the door was sealed, it blended into the decor perfectly.  
  
"Theo ... Theo," she said, gently shaking the smaller woman, "are you all right?"   
  
Swallowing, Theo nodded deliberately at her friend and moved over to the control console. Her eyes were wide and dark, with an inward-turned gaze that made her appear as if she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings at all. The psychic trailed her fingers across the control board, feeling her way across to the navigator's position, the long sleeves of her dirty blue workshirt trailing behind her wrist.   
  
"Theo - is it any better?" Allyssa demanded.  
  
Theo nodded absently, still dragging her fingers across the console. "It's been getting better and better the farther away from him we moved," she replied. Her face still had a sickly white pallor, but was nowhere near as wan as she had been in the main control room. Theo shuddered and sighed deeply, closed her eyes and rolled her head from shoulder to shoulder. "It's ... ah, it's much more comfortable here," she breathed in relief. "The shielding is much better here than in the rest of the ship - there's an incredible difference." Theo knit her brow, thinking. "I remember that we put different shielding in the walls, but I don't remember why ..."  
  
"Well, fine - that's good," Allyssa said brusquely, moving toward Theo at the control panel, gesturing to the instrumentation. "Now what?"  
  
"Oh. Well," she started, "this is where I can contact Aunt Stranna and operate the ship - but I need to reroute the power from the main bridge to the auxiliary bridge - ah, that's here."   
  
"I got that part," Allyssa said dryly.   
  
"Hmm ..." Theo murmured, turning around and staring at the walls of the room meditatively. "Now ... where did I put that thing ... it should be right back here ... ah HA!" Triumphantly, Theo grinned and pointed at the base of the wall, cackling, "I'm so smart, sometimes I amaze myself."  
  
Allyssa rolled her eyes and muttered, "Would you please just get on with whatever it is you have to do?"  
  
Theo knelt on the floor by one of the mauve circular panels on the wall, and struck the top of the panel with the heel of her hand. The panel bowed outward slightly, allowing her to scrabble her fingers behind the cover and pull. The screen popped off in her hand, exposing a storage space littered with tools and whatnot.  
  
"My working tools," she explained as she plunged her arm into the artificial crevasse up to her shoulder. "It's where I keep everything I use to repair whatever's in the room. Every working room should have one of these ... at least I think I put one in each room ..."  
  
"Wonderful, wonderful," Allyssa muttered, staring, leaning down toward her and tapping her foot impatiently. "Can you hurry this up a bit? I don't think we have much time."  
  
"Eh ... right," Theo said, nervously looking toward the door, chewing on her lower lip. Suddenly her face lit up with discovery. "Ah, great, here they are!" she exclaimed, pleased, pulling her arm out of the wall, "my sonic screwdriver and laser lance!" She smiled happily up at Allyssa's incredulous face. "Do you know, I've had these things since I was-"  
  
"Theo!" Allyssa exclaimed in exasperation. "I don't care HOW long you've had that stuff - just use it to fix what we need to so we can get OUT of here!"  
  
"Oh ... right. Sorry," Theo said, abashed, as she quickly took the instruments and other sundry equipment and slid over to the bottom of the control panel. She examined the central column that split through the control panel and pursed her lips. Without another word, she dove under the console, curled one hand into a fist and carefully banged on the side of the column in three separate places. Allyssa bent down and saw another panel pop open, exposing a glare of lights and circuitry.  
  
Theo grinned. "Okay, Allyssa," she said, her voice taking on a more authoratative tone as she swept a pair of goggles over her eyes, "you stand by that door. If you hear anything - and I mean ANYthing coming that way - bang on the top of the panel and run, don't walk, over to THAT door." She gestured at the opposite side of the room with her laser lance. "That's the outside door, and I'm unlocking it now." Theo flicked her wrist several times, waving the lance across several different boards, and an audible *click* sounded from the side of the ship.  
  
"So ... we run outside, and then ...?" Allyssa asked, leaving her question hanging in the air.  
  
Theo lay on her side, positioned herself in front of the open panel. "You're the tactician - you tell me if this sounds good. Here's what I thought - before we run out, we grab Elyse," she said, probing carefully into the panel and glancing sidelong at her friend, "because the only way they're going to find us is to use her."  
  
Allyssa nodded, her face twisted into a wry grimace. "Very true. Otherwise, they'd get lost. Of course, there's no saying that they won't get lost with Elyse leading the way, but their odds are better that they'd find us."   
  
Theo gave her a flat look through the goggles before continuing. "Anyway - I'm sure they're going to use her, and they'll push her through the door first, and - oh, damn this thing -" Theo grit her teeth and pushed forward, causing a cascade of sparks to shoot out of the panel at her. Muttering under her breath, she braced herself with her legs and pushed her upper body closer to the panel, the top of her head now completely encased in the column. Her muffled voice floated into the control room: "...we should bolt out the other door, slam and lock it, and leave them in here. By the time we get outside, my mother and Aunt Stranna should be here; they'll pick us up, and we can come back here later - in a few centuries - and reclaim this one. That should be long enough to insure they're all dead."   
  
Allyssa looked at Theo's legs in their dirty pants, braced against the floor. "Well, that's all fine and good," she said loudly, hoping her voice would carry to Theo inside the column, "but you're assuming that we're going to have power here before they get here, which may not be the case. And even if that's true -" and she shook her head at her own idiocy, thinking I'm really much too soft for this kind of work anymore, " - I'm not leaving that other guy, Dron, or whatever his name is, to die with the rest of them. He's the one that found you with those Cronch in the first place, and I think he deserves a chance to live."   
  
I'm not too crazy about leaving those other people to die, either she thought privately. They seemed decent enough, if a bit dense.  
  
"Fine, fine, bring him along if you have to," Theo said crossly, scowling at the electronics in front of her. "I don't care. You can bring the whole damn family along with you, I don't really care. As long as - as he is left here." She rolled from her side to her back, arching her neck to get a better look at the upper part of the panel, and started poking inside the compartment again with her laser lance, her expression grim.  
  
Allyssa leaned comfortably against the doorjamb, folded her arms and looked at Theo, noticing the perspiration that abruptly beaded her forehead again. She sighed - she didn't need to guess at its cause; she knew. "You really weren't kidding when you were describing him before, were you?" Allyssa said as she watched Theo work. "He actually thinks he owns you."  
  
Theo slid out from under the panel on her back, pushed her goggles up on her forehead and stared at Allyssa. "Why? Did you think I was exaggerating? Making it all up?" she asked bleakly. "Oh, gods, Ally, no. Not at all. I might as well have "Property of Vejiita Ouji" tattooed right here -" and she motioned to her head, " - for everyone to see. He never gives up. In fact - "  
  
Without warning, her eyes started to move and swirl, dark colors whirling in their depths, and she started to breathe a little faster. Her right hand unconsciously clutched at the hollow of her throat as she continued, her voice husky and raw, speaking to Allyssa and herself, "in fact - I have to be - really careful now. Focus on fixing the machine. Working. I - I must stop talking." She dove back under the console, her voice floating out to Allyssa again. "One last thing. When I tell you to, push that amber button on the edge of the board. That starts the power transfer. If that doesn't happen, we won't be able to leave or contact - anyone."  
  
"Fine. Just let me know when," Allyssa said, marking the button's location.  
  
"Oh, you'll know. I'll just scream, 'push it now!' from under here," Theo's disembodied voice chuckled from under the panel, the strain evident in her tone.  
  
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Elyse stumbled a bit as she led the way through the door and into the rest of the TARDIS. She had only gone several meters in when Vejiita snapped, "Stop!"  
  
They were standing in the main corridor of the TARDIS. It was one long, wide hallway, lined with doors of all shapes and sizes on either side, and lit by discreet glowlamps invisibly fastened to the walls. The walls seemed to be carved from living oak. Their texture was smooth, and the whorls and patterns of its grain played down the corridor, the slightly darker color of the patterns blending with the rich honey color of the wood itself. Pieces of artwork were displayed in several large clusters, giving the hallway the appearance of being a very long corridor in someone's ancestral home.   
  
Obediently, Elyse stopped and looked behind her. The prince was directly in back of her, closely followed by his son and the other four men. They all had the same odd unrecognizable expression on their face - even Vejiita Ouji, she mused - what does it mean?  
  
"What - is - this - place?" the prince asked, biting the words off as though they burned his tongue.  
  
"Well - uh - what do you mean?" Elyse asked, genuinely confused. "It's - it's our TARDIS, that's what it is." She spun around, peering down the hallway - is there a fire down there or something? she wondered. Why are they acting so weird?  
  
"Wow!" Gokuu said, his jaw dropping in astonishment. "Look - at - that!"  
  
"I see it, but .. I don't believe it," Piccolo murmured, a part of his stoic control dropped for a moment.  
  
"What? What?" Elyse gasped, frantic, turning in place. "Is there a fire? Do you smell smoke? Where is it? What's wrong? Tell me, tell me - I can't see anything!"  
  
Trunks pushed his way past his father and stood next to Elyse, a comforting presence next to her. "No, no, don't worry, everything's all right," he said soothingly, giving her a reassuring smile. "I think what they mean to say is that they've never seen a vessel this ... eh ... complicated ... before. Isn't that right, Gokuu?" he asked, raising his voice to be heard over the general hubbub.  
  
"Where does it stop?" Gokuu said in awe, gawking at the length and enormity of the hallway. Gohan and Dron simply stood next to Gokuu and stared, slack-jawed.  
  
"Uh ... well ...," Elyse started, frowning at the troop of Earth senshi as though they had temporarily lost their minds, "I thought you understood. This is a TARDIS - a "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space" machine. We ... ah ... exist in many different dimensions at the same time." Elyse smiled timidly at Trunks and gestured with her hand. "We have a lot of room here."  
  
Trunks nodded emphatically, craning his neck to look around. "Oh, yes, I can see that. All those doors must lead somewhere. And this ..?" he asked, gesturing to the artwork on the walls.  
  
"Oh ... well, that's just stuff we've picked up on our travels," Elyse replied, happy to be chatting with the other teen as she started walking down the corridor again. "We go all over, you know. Every civilization is different - we're not allowed to interfere, mind you, but we can buy their-"  
  
"Enough!" barked Vejiita. Elyse started badly, gasping, and whirled to stare at the prince, not understanding his anger.  
  
"We don't care where you found this tasteless rubbish," he snarled, appearing to loom over her in the half light of the corridor. "Stop wasting our time, and take us to that other control room now."  
  
"But ... but ouji-sama, you told me to-"  
  
Vejiita glared at her. "Don't make me repeat myself, girl. And don't think you can take us just anywhere on this ship." I'm right here and I'm watching you, he added silently, his tone calm and threatening.  
  
Elyse's face turned a shade paler. "Hai, ouji-sama. This way, please." She turned and walked briskly down the corridor, hardly looking to the left or the right, her expression set. A quick glance to her right, though, found Trunks walking just as briskly next to her; when he saw her careful glance, he gave her a slow wink and grinned in reply.   
  
A hard, cold knot that had tightened in her stomach eased just a bit. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Argus VI was a desert planet. True enough, it had many different spots that were tropical in nature, but the bulk of the planet was dry and dusty.   
  
Theo was standing outside in the shadow of the TARDIS, feeling the heat that radiated from the rocks and scree around them. Allyssa was standing in the doorway, squinting into the sun.   
  
"What's the usual temperature this time of year?" Allyssa murmured, closing her eyes as she allowed the sun's rays to soak into her skin.  
  
"I dunno," Theo replied as she dropped to the ground. Leaning her back against the rock wall, she tilted her head sideways, closed her eyes and permitted her shoulders to slump in relaxation against the TARDIS. "But this feels wonderful. It's going to get hotter, though, as the day goes on."  
  
Glancing sideways at Theo, the Gant could see that the other woman was plainly exhausted; her eyes appeared bruised and her cheekbones looked overly prominent, while her face was dirty and tear streaked. And it's no wonder she's worn out, she thought wryly. It was just last night that we stopped to drink and play in that bar ... it seems like a million years ago ...   
  
"Theo," she said quietly. "I'll stand watch here until the power transfer's complete. You just rest for a few minutes."  
  
"Okay," Theo sleepily replied. "I don't think I could move anyway."  
  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Captain." His first mate sounded odd, as if unwilling to believe what she saw. "Captain, you must look at these readings."  
  
Their shuttle had just left the Alerian Sink loaded with supplies, and was flying toward their mother ship using a standard trajectory and passcodes supplied by the human Lieutenant Grant.   
  
"What is it?" the commander frowned, the plates of his granite head and neck sliding together as he turned to look at his subordinate.   
  
She stared at him, the lights on her helmet blinking in an increasingly intricate pattern, clearly showing her agitation. "I'm sorry, sir, but you must see this energy reading for yourself ... and quickly, too, before we leave this sector ..."  
  
Sighing, the commander pushed himself out of his chair and leaned across to peer down at the navigator's post. "I see nothing amiss, Sh'mg," he rumbled, tracing the readout with one large digit. "Just-"  
  
He suddenly stopped speaking, and instead stared at the instrumentation as if it had burst into flame in front of him. Sh'mg was staring at it with intense fascination as well.  
  
The first cleared her throat. "Sir? Sir? I'm not mistaken, am I?"  
  
"No - no, you're not mistaken in the least, Sh'mg," he rasped, not taking his gaze from the console. "Plot a course to those coordinates. Estimated time to arrival?"  
  
The first checked the topographical grid. "Approximately seven minutes, sir."  
  
Without raising his voice, the captain ordered, "Everyone secure for planetfall again. We have an unscheduled stop to retrieve some additional cargo. That stop will occur in exactly seven minutes."  
  
Against the background of murmured acknowledgments of the captain's order, a deadly smile gleamed in the first's flinty eyes as she turned and banked the shuttle on its new course.  
  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
  
"All right, girl - how much longer? My patience is wearing thin ..."  
  
You have no patience, she thought, flicking a rapid look back at the scowling Saiyan. "It's just a bit more, ouji-sama," she said aloud, gesturing in front of her. "Past the observation lounge and on the other side of the greenhouse."  
  
"Greenhouse? You have a greenhouse in here, too?" Gohan burst out, incredulous. "I - I can't believe this - it's amazing!"   
  
He had followed Elyse and everyone else through the twists and turns of this vessel - her TARDIS - and could hardly credit what his eyes told him. They had trotted through a fully stocked medical lab, a sick bay, two galleys, what appeared to be a research lab, someone's messy bedroom ("my mother's," Elyse had sniffed), and now they were passing through an observation lounge with a window to the outside.  
  
A window.  
  
Dron and Piccolo had not uttered a word since they started their trek through the ship. Gokuu happily followed Elyse, Trunks and Piccolo through the vessel, calling out comments every now and then and remarking on the cleanliness and the smells of certain areas, completely oblivious to the physical incongruity of what he was seeing. He had wanted to stop in one of the galleys for a snack and had to forcibly be hauled away by Vejiita.  
  
"Aw, but Vejiita, we haven't eaten in an awfully long time!" he whined as the smaller Saiyan dragged him away by his arm.  
  
"And we WON'T be eating for a much LONGER time to come if you DON'T start moving with us!" the prince snapped back, fixing him with an unblinking stare.  
  
Gokuu had subsided then, and meekly followed his prince. But everything just smelled so good there ...  
  
Now, however, they were in a part of the ship where Gokuu was quiet, and Gohan could not contain himself any longer. The palpable impossiblity of everything else they had seen paled in comparison to what was now in front of his eyes. "Where - how - I don't understand. Aren't we completely inside your ship?" Gohan sputtered as they trotted through the lounge.   
  
"Sure," Elyse replied, turning her head. "Why?"  
  
"Well - isn't that - a - a window? How'd a window to the outside get stuck in the middle of your spaceship?"  
Elyse shrugged and said, "Well, it's really not as weird as it seems. If you just consider that-" when all of a sudden her eyes grew wide as saucers and whirled with color.   
  
"Oh!" she gasped, "I nearly forgot! Follow me, everyone!" Elyse leaped and disappeared out the only other door in the room, causing everyone else to hustle behind her. She didn't wait for them on the other side, either - she sped down the hallway, calling, "We really must hurry - this way, this way!"  
  
Trunks caught up to her quickly and jogged next to her, his sword jostling in its scabbard on his back. Gohan followed behind and caught the end of their conversation.  
  
"Hey, what's the rush?" Trunks asked as he tried to keep pace.  
  
Elyse was gliding quickly across the floor, nearing running, her hair pushed back behind her ears and bouncing on the back of her neck. Her eyes sought his, innocent blue and green whorls around elongated pupils. "Oh, well - I just remembered that we have to go through a couple more long hallways, and thought that -"  
  
"Her idiot mother was sitting outside the window, baka," Vejiita broke in, his voice silky and smooth, "and she didn't want me to notice her. Isn't that right, girl?"  
  
Trunks turned to look at his father in surprise, then turned to Elyse. "Really? You saw your mother outside the ship?"  
  
The young redhead clenched her teeth at his implied insult. I'm nobody's girl, you rotten - "Yes, that's right, ouji-sama," she agreed, narrowing her eyes and refusing to look at the Saiyan prince behind her. "My mother was outside. You're much too smart for me."  
  
"See that you don't forget that - girl," he retorted, his tone mocking. "And hurry it up. She looked like she was sleeping."  
  
Elyse's hands balled into impotent fists as she trotted in front of the Saiyan prince.  
  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
  
"Transfer - complete," a mechanical voice intoned from the console. "Main power function restored. All units currently operational."   
  
Ah, it's time, Allyssa thought, staring at the machinery through the door. "Theo - Theo, get up," she called, pulling her head out of the TARDIS and leaning toward the resting woman. "Theo, we have full power now. The aux control center is now the main control center. It's time for you to get up and do something."  
  
Theo's eyes snapped open and looked uncomprehendingly in front of her. "Where - where am I?" she muttered, her glance skittering over the landscape.  
  
"On Argus VI. With me. And we're in trouble," Allyssa said, looking at her friend. "Big surprise."  
  
Theo shifted her gaze to the Gant. A large, rueful grin split her face as she shook the last remnents of sleep from her mind. "Oh, NOW I remember," she grinned, pushing herself up from the sand and brushing stray bits off the knees and sides of her dusty pants. "So - we have full power?"  
  
"Uh huh," the warrior woman nodded, frowning as she looked into the sky. "According to the machine in there. But - I just felt something. There's something that's not right here. It feels - corrupt. Evil. Something that goes against nature ..."  
  
Theo looked into the sky as well and shuddered. "You're right - there's something around here that isn't right at all - it's not meant to be here," she agreed. "But I can only do one thing at a time - so let's fix the TARDIS so that we can use it, and then we'll see what's going on out here."  
  
"Fine by me - the sooner we get inside, the better," Allyssa murmured, holding the door open for the Guardian. She took one last look around before she stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door.  
  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
  
"Theo - Theo, someone's coming!"  
  
The Guardian's head snapped up from the control board as her fingers sped across the keys, punching in several complex codes. "Get outside, Ally," she ordered shortly, jerking her head toward the door, "and don't look back. I'll grab Elyse and shoot outside as fast as I can."  
  
"No, Theo," Allyssa refused, positioning herself in front of the door, "you run outside and I'll get Elyse. You're the one he wants anyway - that means that you should be the first through the door. Get moving, now."  
  
"Damn it, Ally, I can't!" Theo hissed, her hands moving like a blur over the controls, "I'm still setting some of these parameters - it's going to take me another few seconds, and we don't have that time! Would you please get your butt out the door and-"  
  
"No! I'm not going without you, and that's final!" Allyssa snapped, tensing and glaring at Theo. "We go together, or we don't go at all!"  
  
"Fine!" Theo yelled back, smacking the keyboard one last time as she glowered at her friend. "Then-"  
  
A crunching sound came from the opposite side of the door.   
  
Theo and Allyssa looked into each other's eyes for a moment.  
  
"NOW!" they bellowed as one, bounding toward the door.  
  
Allyssa reached the door first, and yanked it open. The person on the other side stumbled and fell through; they saw a flash of red hair and whirling eyes in the crush of people spilling through the door.   
  
"Mama!" Elyse cried piteously. "Mama, wait-"  
  
Both Theo and Allyssa screamed, "Get up! Get up and get moving, NOW!" They looked at the back of the TARDIS while grabbing whatever wrists and arms they could, and gave a mighty yank, pulling their quarry to the back of the control room. Allyssa dropped everything, gave a mighty leap forward and hit the closed door with her shoulder.   
  
"Theo - Theo, what're you doing? Wait!" Gokuu cried.  
  
The door flew open with a huge bang, and Allyssa charged through it, screaming, "Get out here, Theo, move, move, move!" Moments later Theo leaped through the opening, hauling a dark clad figure through the doorway of the TARDIS into bright sunlight.   
  
"Theo, NO!" Allyssa screamed, "Wait!"  
  
In one fluid movement Theo spun around, slamming her foot into the open TARDIS door and kicking the door shut with a bang. There, she thought, winded but satisfied, that bastard can just STAY there. Forever.   
  
Panting, she turned around as she complained, "Gods, Elyse, what've you been eating, you're as heavy as a -"  
  
- and stopped dead as she came face to face with a smirking Vejiita.  
  
"Are we going somewhere?" he asked, his eyes glittering.  
  
If the situation hadn't been so dire, Theo would have laughed. Instead, the only thing she could do was gape helplessly at him and think, what else could POSSIBLY go wrong..?  
  
Something smashed into her shoulder, hard, and drove her to the ground. As she pushed herself up, shaking the sand away from her face and hair and spitting it from between her teeth, a large foot found her shoulder again and shoved her out of the way, hard enough to roll her toward the TARDIS.  
  
Whose doors were now open, she saw as she rolled - and there were lots of legs and feet pouring out of the door -   
  
"Don't you blame her for anything, and don't think you're going to do the same thing to her you did before!" an angry Allyssa shouted. "It was all my idea to get her the hell away from you, you psychotic monster! Don't you DARE try to attack her again, or so help me, I'll kill you myself with my bare hands!"  
  
"Mama! Mama, are you all right?" Strong young hands reached down to pull Theo to her feet, brushing the sand from her workshirt when she was upright, anxious blue green eyes searching her mother's face for any signs of bruising. "I was so worried about you ..."  
  
"Are you all right, Theo?" Gokuu appeared behind her, putting one large, comforting hand on her shoulder.   
  
Another young man was next to Elyse, anxiously watching her - a young man with blue eyes and lavendar hair -  
  
Oh, right, Theo thought, mortified. I remember - he's the one I almost killed.  
  
"Eh ... yes, I'm fine," Theo said, embarrassed at all the attention. "Where's Allyssa?"  
  
"Oh. She's over there with that other little man, screaming at Vejiita." Gokuu nodded good-naturedly toward the desert, shrugging.  
  
"What?" Theo gasped, alarmed. "She - she can't do that - he'll kill her!"  
  
"Well, no, he won't," Gokuu said, looking down at the Guardian. "I won't let him hurt her - and he knows that. We're really sorry for what happened to you, too - we had no idea what was going on."  
  
"And we still don't," Piccolo muttered darkly. "But we've been told how dangerous you are." Gohan was standing next to his mentor, watching Theo with an unreadable expression.  
  
Theo turned to look at the tall green Namek and the Saiyan, a sudden stab of fear lancing through her. "Dangerous? I'm not dangerous - and there's certainly nothing going on -" she started defensively, then stopped in complete astonishment as her daughter shrieked, "What's that THING?"  
  
Everyone turned to look at Elyse, then followed her gaze skyward. A large, battered shuttle hovered over them, engines thrumming with power. Geysers of steam fountained from relief valves positioned around the ship as it slowly make its way toward the ground, its spindly-looking landing gear supporting the weight of the ship as it descended.   
  
Several long moments passed as the ship settled into the earth, pulverizing the vegetation and rocks that had the bad fortune to be underneath its clawed feet. A hissing, groaning sound announced the lowering of a large panel underneath the shuttle. Taut pneumatic guides helped to push the panel down to the ground; at that point, it became a long, shallow-sloped ramp that led directly to the bowels of the ship.  
  
Allyssa had turned from shouting at Vejiita to confront this new threat. Something familiar and malevolent wafted from the spacecraft to her - a feeling so strong that she called, "Stay back, Theo - I have a bad feeling about this. Stay right where you are."  
  
Vejiita shifted his gaze to the warrior woman, then back to the ship. "Are these your enemies?" he demanded. "Are they hers? Is that why they're here?"  
  
Any answer to his questions was forestalled by the emergence of the shuttle's occupants. A collective gasp went around the senshi; Elyse and Theo were unceremoniously pushed to the back of the crowd, while the warriors faced the newcomers.  
  
The two aliens that walked out of the ship were nothing like any aliens the Earth senshi had ever seen. They were bipedal and had a vaguely humanoid form, but the lead alien stood as tall as two regular men at his shoulder. His head was set on top of his body without the benefit of a neck; rocks and boulders created his torso, arms and legs; and green slime coated his joints. The other parts of his body were overlaid by an array of odd-looking equipment; his head, in particular, was covered by a large helmet covered with circuits and sensors. The second alien was a slightly smaller copy of the first, with different striations painted through the rock that appeared to be his body.  
  
The giant strode forward and stopped several meters away from the senshi, appearing to examine them. The smaller alien stood half a meter behind the larger and made small, grinding sounds. The wind blew toward the warriors, carrying the sulfurous odors of the alien creatures to them.  
  
Allyssa gagged but stayed where she was, slightly behind Vejiita and in front of everyone else. Vejiita looked across at her and frowned, then gave the aliens his complete attention.  
  
"You are not natives of this planet," the giant finally rumbled, resonant tones coming from the equipment on his chest as he inclined his head toward the group.  
  
"We are not," Vejiita agreed, stepping forward and folding his arms, a scowl driving his eyebrows together. "Nor are you."  
  
"True - but it is no matter," the giant responded, lifting his head. He swiveled it deliberately from side to side, until it seemed he found what he was seeking. His head stopped moving and the display on the side of his helmet became fierce; intricate patterns raced across his sensors. "We have found what we need."  
  
Theo's heart was beating a rapid tattoo in her chest as she clutched Elyse tightly in her arms.   
  
"Mama ... how could this be, how could this happen? Weren't they all - didn't you -"  
  
Oh dear Kami, it can't be, it can't be ...   
  
He turned his massive head toward Vejiita. "We will take those females in the back of your group. And we will take their ship, wherever it is." The alien straightened to his full height and breadth, appearing to enlarge in front of their eyes. "You will move out of our way- now - or we will destroy you." 


	19. Power Plays

Time Warriors Chapter 19  
  
********************************************  
  
The fastest way to get a Saiyan's attention, other than bribing him with mounds of food, is to challenge him. No matter who the challenger is, no matter the nature of the challenge, no matter what the odds of the Saiyan winning the final battle, the Saiyan will accept it 95 times out of 100. And should this challenger actually order the Saiyan to do something and then issue his challenge, the odds that the Saiyan will take up the challenge increase to 100 out of 100.  
  
The H'trch had no idea they were dealing with Saiyans.  
  
********************************************  
  
"You will move out of our way- now - or we will destroy you."  
  
Vejiita stood his ground and glared at the aliens, an unpleasant glint in his eyes. "You are going to destroy us?" he repeated, his eyebrow quirking up. "I don't think so."  
  
The alien slowly blinked at the Saiyan as if seeing him for the first time. "Of course," it intoned, a ripple of distaste crossing his granite countenance. "You are softbodies - ignorant, unskilled vermin, fit for nothing more than labor or extermination."   
  
"Is that so?" the prince inquired icily, his body taut with suppressed rage. Folding his arms across his chest, Vejiita fixed the aliens with a baleful eye, his glare promising slaughter and carnage to any who dared cross his path. He faced the giants and stood like carved stone, unmoving.  
  
Theo and Elyse leaned on each other and stayed where they had been pushed, screened on all sides by the Earth's defenders. Her breath coming in quick, rapid pants, the older Guardian clutched her daughter's arm and stared in mute stupefaction at the tableau in front of her. Elyse gasped and held onto her mother, trying to shrink into the background.  
  
I can't believe it ... first Vejiita, now the H'trch ...  
  
The larger rock creature grunted something to its companion, who responded in kind. Rapid patterns of flickering lights appeared and disappeared on the side of each creature's helmet as they communicated, green slime facilitating their head movements as they leaned toward each other. As it twisted back to look at the little group the alien gestured in their direction, grinding noises accompanying every shift its body made.  
  
"Your insignificant energy readings show that we would not even consider using you for sustenance, let alone slave labor. Strange for warriors - which you obviously are, given your physical appearance and low intelligence - but apparently true." Another grunting consultation with his companion ended with the larger alien snorting and standing erect, his right paw extended toward them with a small mechanism aimed at Vejiita. "I will take another scan to verify."  
  
"What - what did he say, Gohan?" Gokuu asked, his eyes locked on the craggy monster in front of them.  
  
"I'm not sure, otousan," Gohan replied, puzzled, his dark hair glinting in the desert sun, "but I think he just said that we were too stupid to eat."  
  
"That's what I heard," Dron agreed, his blaster trained on the monster's torso and head. He narrowed his eyes and aimed past Vejiita's shoulder, right at the creature's head. "And I don't like anything that thinks it's going to eat me. I say we just let loose right now and be done with them."  
  
"We can't - these blasters won't do us any good at all," muttered Allyssa, nudging Dron with her elbow and nodding at the creatures. "The power these puny things project isn't enough to knock gravel off that beast's shoulder. If we're going to hurt them at all, we've got to get past their chi shield - and the quickest way to do that is to hit them right in the mouth."  
  
Gokuu and Gohan looked at Allyssa, surprised.   
  
The spacer glanced at the warrior woman over the barrel of his gun, a questioning look in his eyes.   
  
The Gant looked back at them and shrugged, noncommittal. "Trust me. I've seen it done before. It's messy, but it works."  
  
The Saiyans nodded and returned their attention to the aliens. "All right. If we need to, we'll use it," Gokuu said, shifting his weight as he moved into a defensive crouch.  
  
Dron stared at the creatures in front of them. "Fine," he replied, laconic as ever. "I can do that." He hefted the blaster to a more comfortable position. "Any particular place in their mouth?"  
  
Snorting in amusement, Allyssa retorted, "Dead center would be right on target. Preferably when it's open."  
  
As if on cue, the creature paused and dipped its head to glance at the device in its gigantic hand, slowly rotating his head back and forth, and started to speak again. "As I suspected," his translator growled. "You have no energy to speak of - you have no skills of any usefulness to us-and you have no technology. You are obviously worthless." Raising his head, the giant closed its mouth and peered at the group again, sighting the women's position against the rocks. At the same time, a strange humming sound seemed to come from the alien's chest; it was ominous and threatening, sounding as if the very ground was groaning in response to an invisible signal. The noise grew in volume the longer the creature gazed at them. Gravel and small stones tumbled from the top of the rocks behind the Guardians, causing Theo to look back in alarm.  
  
"Argh - what's it doing now?" Gohan muttered, wincing at the noise. "That's awful!"  
  
"It's part of what they do," Allyssa retorted sharply, her face contorted in a grimace of pain as she dug her feet into the soft sand for better balance. "That's the beginning of their attack."  
  
"But those females-" murmured the lead creature, the strange humming growing richer in harmonic overtones, "-those females are valuable to us." Inflectionless, the creature's translation unit grated, "We have decided. We will take the Time Lords - you will tell us where their vessel is - and then we will destroy you."   
  
With that, the H'trch commander closed his fist and rumbled forward toward the Saiyans, his bulk shaking the earth, determined to pluck his prize from the offending filth of softbodies surrounding it.  
  
********************************************  
  
"Don't come any closer if you want to live."  
  
Vejiita stood perfectly still and watched the commander press forward. The prince's threatening scowl would have warned away any normal mortal anxious to live beyond the next few minutes. The alien, however, appeared not to notice and continued forward, oblivious to any danger.  
  
"Agreed," said a cold voice at the prince's shoulder. "We will not let you pass."  
  
Gokuu was standing next to Vejiita, an impressive figure tense with anger and indignation. His eyebrows were drawn together in a severe frown as he unconsciously imitated Vejiita's stance, facing the aliens with his arms drawn across his body. His strong, clear voice carried across the open space between the warriors and the alien's ship, lashing the H'trch commander with its power.  
  
"We wish you no harm - but we will protect our own. Come no closer."  
  
The rock giant paused, looking at the Saiyans blocking his path. "You cannot stop us," the commander responded, surprised. "The woman's energy signal drew us to her. We will have the Time Lord, and her ship, and we will take her now. Do not think that your puny efforts will deter us. You will be utterly destroyed." An aura of greenish chi hovered about the alien's hands, pulsing slightly as he examined at the Saiyan warriors. It was completely obvious to the H'trch commander that these people were totally outclassed; why didn't they simply surrender and accept their fate?  
  
"No one threatens me - especially not giant walking rocks," Vejiita snarled, his eyes narrowed to dark slits. All at once, the area encircling him was bathed in a flood of warm, golden light, as the aura of a Super Saiyan flared around the prince's body. Vejiita appeared to grow in stature and strength; his leg muscles were corded and tight, his chest strained at the soft protective armor encasing it, and his eyes were as sharp and incisive as green lasers. A knowing smirk slid across his face as he looked at the commander and said in a silken, menacing voice, "Unless you truly want to die, alien, I suggest that you turn around, go back to your ship and leave."  
  
"And I won't let you try to take our friends," Gokuu said in a flat voice. Without warning, a soft detonation pushed out an enormous amount of energy as Gokuu was also enveloped in the golden glow of Super Saiyan power. The large Saiyan likewise seemed to grow and swell in size, his enormous muscles straining against the taut material of his gi. "We don't want to hurt you. You should get back into your spaceship and go away."  
  
The giant stopped his advance and stared at the glowing senshei with renewed interest. "Hn. A miscalculation on our part," he murmured, his granite head bent at an angle to observe the prince and Gokuu. Something resembling a smirk split his face as he said, "Now your strength is impressive - quite impressive. You should be able to provide a pleasant diversion for us after all. You will ultimately fail, of course - we will still take the females and their ship - but the exercise should be particularly pleasant."   
  
"You will take nothing from us," Gokuu responded, shaking his head in reproach. "Our friends are not things to be taken away. They will stay here, with us." His strength poured out from his body in waves, flooding the immediate area with his power. "Just do what we told you to do - get back into your spaceship and leave. Otherwise, we will be forced to fight you."  
  
"Commander!" called the smaller granite creature in alarm, gesturing with wide sweeps of its arms. Its translator unit used a rich contralto's voice in contrast to the booming bass of its leader. "One moment, please!"  
  
Piccolo stood next to the doorway of the TARDIS, effectively blocking the entrance to the machine and providing a rear guard to protect Elyse and Theo. The green kami felt some strange vibrations coming from the Guardian women, particularly from Theo - vibrations of power that were completely alien to him, wisps of subtle energy that permeated the atmosphere and seemed to keep that incessant humming sound at a manageable level. He was convinced that he should be close to them when the fighting started, if for no other reason than to insure their safety.  
  
But that's not the only reason, he acknowledged to himself. I won't let her get out of control again...  
  
"Sh'mg!" the alien commander said, harsh overtones giving his voice an imperious quality. "Stand down and get into the ship. I will kill these softbodies and recapture the Time Lords myself. You will insure that our ship is prepared to take off at a moment's notice. You must also insure that someone is on hand at any time to reclaim the women's vessel."  
  
Recapture the Time Lords ...? Piccolo's frown deepened as he considered the words of the aliens. Does that mean that they had captured them before? And why is that thing calling them Time Lords? He looked askance at Theo and Elyse, not trusting their compliant, frightened appearance, recalling how fierce Theo had been in that other plain.  
  
"But commander -" the smaller one argued, a lesser version of the breast plate equipment vibrating on her chest. "Sir, may I respectfully submit that the overall commander of the mission should not be in a situation that could place him in danger. Sir, please - permit me to assist you in this, and-"  
  
"No. You are second in command, and as such, I have need for you in other areas." The commander spoke mildly, but it was if each word he spoke carried a long lash. His second was stoic, yet appeared to flinch slightly under his verbal assault. "Your objection is noted and logged; however, you will still carry out my orders. You will board our shuttle, insure its readiness for a fast departure, prepare a place for our new cargo and assemble a crew to board the women's vessel. Do you understand?"   
  
"Sir, yes, sir!" the second said unhappily. She nodded and bowed to her superior officer, then turned and trotted back to the ship, lumbering up the ramp to the dark interior, looking at the scene in front of the ship, distressed.  
  
He takes too many risks - and this time he's gambling with his life and ours. These softbodies are different in nature than others we've encountered ...   
  
The commander watched her move into the bowels of the ship. When she was completely inside, he turned back to the group of challengers and said, his metallic voice ringing against the hard surface of the shuttle, "Now, then. Which of you will be the first to die?"  
  
********************************************  
  
The Earth warriors were alert and ready to strike, with Gokuu and Vejiita in full Super Saiyan mode. As the leader of the rock giants turned toward the warriors, yet another noxious, sulfuric odor swept across them, reminding Gokuu of fire, molten rock - and Freeza. A likeness of the small lizard despot, screaming in impotent rage and surrounded by fire, swept across his conscious mind.  
  
"Wow," he murmured to himself, frowning as he dug his feet deeper into the sand. "Why am I thinking of Freeza? We're not on Namek."   
  
Never one for introspection, Gokuu shrugged and pushed the image of the little tyrant from his mind, concentrating instead on the large alien. "We've gotta be on our guard," he said as an aside to Vejiita. "This guy looks tough. We don't even know how he attacks."  
  
Vejiita swung his gaze over to Gokuu, then back to the alien. "Wake up, Kakarotto," he growled. "Make sure that no more of these things come out of that ship - that is, unless you want to fight them."  
  
"What? Sure, I'll fight anything that comes out of the ship - but who's going to fight that guy?" Gokuu asked ingenuously, puzzled.  
  
"I am, baka!" Vejiita snapped, turning his back on the larger Saiyan. Sometimes, Kakarotto, you are just too dense ...  
  
"Oh," Gokuu replied, nodding his head. "I figured we'd all fight him. Look, we could all help you - this guy seems to respect strength, and if Trunks and Gohan powered up, too-"  
  
"No! Fool, we don't need to show him everything at once!" Vejiita snapped, his eyes bright and dangerous. "Leave something in reserve for-"  
  
"But, Vejiita, what if-"  
  
Vejiita turned on Gokuu, eyeing him ominously, and included the other Earth senshi in his gaze. "Listen and listen well," he snarled. "because I will only say this once. I am fighting this creature, and I will fight it alone. "  
  
"Um ... yeah, sure, Vejiita," Gokuu said, scratching the back of his head. "Whatever you say."  
  
"Well ... okay," Gohan said dubiously, eyeing the smaller man. He obviously wanted to ask a question, but thought better of it and kept his mouth shut. Vejiita grunted in response and stared at Trunks and Piccolo, daring them to say anything. The teenager simply nodded his assent - he had expected nothing less - but the green Namekian scowled and rasped, "Why you, Vejiita? Why not Gokuu? What claim do you have on this creature?"  
  
"If it's any of your business - which it isn't - this creature threatened me and then dared to suggest I do something for it before it destroyed me." A flash of white, predatory teeth perfectly mirrored his vicious expression. "I allow no one to do that to me."   
  
Piccolo stared at him, nodded, and said no more. His gaze, though, flickered between Theo and the prince and back again, and a glimmer of understanding sparked in his eyes. He shook his head and snorted softly to himself.   
  
This should be interesting.  
  
********************************************  
  
Eyes glowing ominously, Vejiita stepped in front of the Earth senshi, his aura pulsing in time to his slow, steady heartbeat. "Take your last chance and leave this place," he called, his tone challenging and preemptory. "Once you attack, there will be no turning back."  
  
The commander stopped several meters in front of Vejiita, the lights on the side of his helmet glowing in a regular pattern. "I would say the same to you, softbody," he said with no preamble. "This is your last opportunity to hand over the females and their vessel."  
  
Vejiita sneered. "You are fighting Saiyans, alien. I could care less about these females you're prattling about, but know this - Saiyans bend the knee to no one."  
  
The giant shrugged, a slight movement of his massive shoulders, stone plates sliding and crunching together. "Then we will fight for their possession," he said simply, "and you will be destroyed. Then I will take the females and their vessel." He inclined his enormous head toward the opposite side of his ship and grated, "I will fight over there, where the ground is more suitable for battle. Prepare yourself."  
  
"Heh," Vejiita snorted, pushing his power level higher and dropping his hands loosely to his sides. "Prepare yourself, creature, to meet that which made the ugly likes of you."  
  
********************************************  
  
Good - it's about time, he thought, his mind automatically sorting through offensive and defensive positions to use against the alien as they drifted across the sand. Scowling again, he realized that he knew little or nothing about the creatures in front of him; not a good position to be in, considering he was about to be attacked. But someone in that group did - apparently knew those things intimately ...  
  
Woman, he sent, invading Theo's mind, what do you know of these warriors? How do they fight?  
  
Countless replies to Vejiita's question flew through Theo's mind, and all were quickly rejected. I ... I know them, ouji-sama ... they are strong and vile and loathsome, and attack with both mind and body. Do not be deceived - their bodies are made of rock, not flesh.  
  
Obviously they're made of rock, the prince replied, exasperated. Don't be a fool. Is there anything else you can tell me about them that's useful?  
  
Hot anger bubbled to her lips as she held onto Elyse's arm and looked at the back of the prince with wrathful, narrowed eyes - what should she do? If I tell him how to fight these things and he defeats them, I'll be tied to him forever - but if I don't and they defeat *him*, then Gokuu or one of the others would save us ...  
  
She decided. Her face set into an impassive mask, she slowly pulled out of the prince's mind, silent and cold.   
  
********************************************  
  
Vejiita sized up his opponent, and found him lacking. He's large and probably strong, but not fast - and certainly not nimble, the prince thought, watching the rock creature move into the battle zone. This shouldn't take long at all.  
  
"You should have prepared yourself by now, softbody," the commander said, his translator's tones resonant and soft, at complete odds with his words. "So that you know who it is that defeats you, I am H'trch - and it is the H'trch, with the aid of the Time Lords and their vessel, who will rule the universe. You will be utterly destroyed!"  
  
"So, you want to rule the universe, do you?" With his power near its midrange, the Saiyan prince leaped into the air above the H'trch, shouting a challenge, and experimentally tossed a small blue ball of chi at its head. Let's see what happens ...  
  
Surprisingly enough, the H'trch was able to bat the ball of chi away, sliding it harmlessly away across the desert sand. The rock giant swiveled to keep Vejiita in his line of sight and opened his large mouth at the Saiyan, exposing a sulfurous, red maw with rows of pointed teeth.  
  
The smell was horrible - Allyssa and Dron started retching right away, staggering blindly about. Vejiita's iron mastery over his body controlled his reaction to the stench. The woman was right, at least about this, he thought, satisfied. Moving into a defensive position, the prince expected a chi blast from the creature's mouth - but nothing came out.  
  
Unexpectedly, though, his very bones started to ache and throb, and his teeth felt as though they were shaking in his gums. What the-? he wondered briefly - then realized that the H'trch commander was suddenly no more than a meter away from him, hovering in midair, his massive forearm slicing toward Vejiita's exposed neck.  
  
"Heh - you'll have to do better than that!"  
  
A flurry of blocks and punches followed, faster than a human eye could follow, as the H'trch and the Saiyan took the measure of each other in the air. The commander was trying to use his greater strength and weight to crush the prince, while Vejiita was taking full advantage of his lighter frame and faster responses to pound away at the monster's defenses.  
  
Again and again the two shook the ground and each other with their chi blasts; energy bolts from each smashed into the earth at regular intervals as their fight ranged across a wider and wider section of the desert.  
  
"What's the matter?" Vejiita taunted after a particularly intense clash, watching the H'trch closely as it straightened to face him. "Are you getting tired? Worn out after a little bit of exercise? How do you expect to rule the universe if you have no stamina?"  
  
The H'trch roared in answer, its rage and madness at the audacity of the softbody in front of him causing it to rush forward in mindless fury.  
  
Vejiita smiled mockingly and encouraged the H'trch to attack, his arms spread wide. The creature howled in answer, leaping at the small frame of the prince as if to pulverize it, its hands and feet furiously pounding away at the protective shields of the Saiyan.  
  
"Is he playing with him?" Gohan asked Trunks. They had both levitated above the ground, and were now watching from a comfortable distance away. Each was ready to leap in to assist Vejiita, if it became necessary, but neither one actually wanted to be the first.  
  
Trunks shrugged, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't know. I don't think so, but ... something's really weird out there. I felt ... this thing ... a while ago ... it set my teeth on edge, and I felt like I ... eh ... phased for a couple of seconds. Do you know what I mean?"  
  
"Yes, I do - I felt that, too, but just for a moment," Gohan responded, squinting out to the battlefield again. "It was ... odd."  
  
Trunks stared over at him. "That's an understatement. I thought my teeth were going to fall out."  
  
Gohan glanced back, his arms folded across his chest. "Me, too. I hope these things don't have any other nasty surprises for us." He took a deep breath, unfolded his arms, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Come on, come on, Vejiita, you can do it! Beat this guy for us - do it NOW!"  
  
The four non-Saiyans on the ground looked up at him, nonplussed, but the action on the battlefield brought their attention back to the fight in an instant.  
  
A powerful upset punch thrown by the creature was immediately blocked by the prince, who followed up with a forceful front kick of his own to the monster's jaw. An earsplitting *crack* rent the air as the commander's momentum flung him away from the prince, his arms stretched out at his sides, pieces of his jaw flying from his head. He recovered quickly, pulling his arms and elbows into his chest to stop his roll in midair; righted himself, as the circuits flared on the equipment covering his head and arms; and snarling, shot a large stream of red chi directly at Vejiita's heart.  
  
But as the H'trch commanded watched in disbelief, Vejiita - disappeared. All the monster could see was a multicolored blur.  
  
What - where-? the commander thought, now thoroughly angry, his head swiveling from side to side.  
  
"Behind you!" the prince crowed in triumph, sending a chi blast directly into the small of the commander's back. Its concussive power threw the unsuspecting creature off balance and flung him toward the ground; however, Vejiita could see that no real damage was done as the chi shield of the monster held true.  
  
"Damn," he muttered, narrowing his eyes, "that should've ended it. How did I get past his guard before?"  
  
The captain recovered and turned again in midair, his granite face pulled into a rictus of fury. "Enough of this!" he bellowed, "Die, vermin!" With that, he opened his great craw toward Vejiita, concentrating his energy and his power against his enemy, and attacked  
  
********************************************  
  
"What's happening up there, Gokuu? What's going on?"  
  
Gokuu held one hand across his eyebrow ridge, squinted against the rays of the sun. "They're fighting, Theo. It looks like Vejiita's doing pretty good, too ..."  
  
"Oh," she said as she leaned next to Elyse, staring into the sky. That's too bad ...  
  
"Mama - Mama!" Elyse whispered urgently, pulling on her arm. "Mama - why don't we just leave? We're right next to the TARDIS, you have your key ... we could just take everyone and run ..."  
  
"We can't do that, Elyse," Theo replied, turning her head to look at her daughter.   
  
"Why not? We've got everyone here - we could just leave him up there, and get out of here ..."  
  
Her daughter's face was snarled and angry as she looked into the sky; her red hair was flying around her cheeks, and her eyes were dark and troubled.   
  
"Elyse," she said quietly as she gazed at the battle, "don't turn all the way around - but when you can, look at the doorway of the TARDIS out of the corner of your eye."   
  
Elyse snuck a glance back at the rocks behind them. "That green man is standing there!" she hissed.  
  
"Right," her mother whispered back. "Your idea is sound, but ... we have a little problem getting INTO the ship."   
  
"Can't you do something about him?" Elyse muttered, turning her gaze back to the mid-air battle.  
  
"Believe me, I've been trying to," Theo murmured, sliding an irritated look over toward the Namekian. "Unfortunately, he's not suggestible. He's not just an alien - he's a kami, too."  
  
The younger Guardian groaned. "A kami? Oh, no ... so that means -"   
  
"... that he won't budge. And we're stuck here, at least for a little while."   
  
Her daughter gave her a sidelong glance out of blue gray eyes. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Theo smiled mirthlessly. "I set the emergency beacon on the TARDIS before we ran outside. If we're lucky, someone is monitoring our timestream, and will hear us."   
  
"And they'd come get us?" Elyse asked hopefully, straining her eyes to see into the bright morning sky.  
  
"Gods above, I hope so," Theo prayed fervently.  
  
********************************************  
  
Very suddenly, Vejiita started to feel strange aches in his arms and legs again. The pains moved throughout his torso, through his jaw and into his teeth, grinding and throbbing in his body so much that it felt as though his very bones were rubbing together. His skull felt as if it was vibrating, moving faster and faster; and there was something else waiting outside his mind, something that was huge and solid and unmoving, watching for the smallest opportunity to leap into his psyche.  
  
He blinked - and abruptly the damaged face of the H'trch filled his vision, the stench of sulfur and death overpowering. Huge plates that acted like hinged jaws opened again, exposing a red, cavernous throat, closer to his own face than he normally would allow - but for some reason, he couldn't move and couldn't gather enough chi to -  
  
Pain exploded on the side of his head as he felt himself driven down towards the ground. The prince scarcely had time to roll out of his forced dive away from the earth when he realized that energy balls were hailing down on him from above. His chi shield held, but barely - the strength of that assault had been totally unexpected and completely out of character given the types of attacks the craggy giant had been using just moments ago.   
  
The prince flipped up and away, putting as much distance between the alien and himself as he reasonably could. I don't understand what -  
  
A strange lassitude stole over him, coupled with that grinding, bone shaking vibration that was jarring him from head to toe. Something is totally wrong, he growled to himself; his sixth sense warned him to move, which he did, and again just escaped a chi attack.. Why can't I move?   
  
The reek of the creature told the prince what was going to happen milliseconds before it did. "Moving slower, are you?" jibed the H'trch, using one huge fist to club down on Vejiita's back as the other pulled back to deliver a large chi strike. "It's the beginning of the end for you, fool!" Grinning, the rock monster opened his mouth again, exposing its red magma throat and an odd thrumming sound -  
  
I can't move, the prince realized angrily. This thing's going to crush me because I can't move-  
  
The rock creature's fist smacked the center of Vejiita's back, throwing his body toward the ground in an unnatural, grotesque position as its chi bathed the prince in an unholy light. Vejiita struck the earth with such force that he sent a fountain of sand and debris hundreds of meters in the air and drilled an impact crater in the ground that was at least fifty meters across.  
  
A horrified silence hung over the warriors as they watched Vejiita plummet into the ground headfirst, the H'trch hovering expectantly over him, charging up for his final strike.  
  
"Vejiita!" shouted Gokuu. "Vejiita, no! Vejiita, get up!"   
  
There was no response from the center of the chasm.  
  
Without a thought for his own safety, the large Saiyan placed two fingers in the center of his forehead and disappeared, only to immediately reappear directly over the middle of the impact crater, shielding his friend's body from the H'trch's strike.  
  
Immediately, a terrified scream split the air.  
  
"Dammit - no! No, no, NO! Gokuu, what're you doing?" Theo shrieked. She threw off Elyse's restraining hands and burst out of the defensive semicircle, completely panicked, running flat out to reach the impact crater and Gokuu. "You can't do that - you're going to get smashed! Let that baka take care of himself and come back here - come back here - Gokuu - GOKUU, NO!"  
  
"Get back here - what is wrong with you?" Gohan yelled, catching her upper arms and hauling her back into the protective ring of warriors, throwing her on the ground. "What do you mean, 'let that baka take care of himself?' We take care of each other here! Also, we're doing this for you - I can't protect you if you decide to run into the battlefield!"  
  
"Theo, have you lost your mind completely?" Allyssa hollered at her, a black scowl distorting her face with fear and anger. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Those are H'trch out there, in case you've forgotten - do you want us to lose?"  
  
"But he can't do that, he can't stay in the line of fire, they're going to get him, too, just like they got ouji-sama," Theo babbled, words streaming across her lips faster and faster, her multihued eyes pleading at Gohan for understanding, her hair crackling about her as if she was in an electrical storm. "Those creatures use a weird kind of attack and I can help him, but I have to dip into his mind for a moment, and I can't do that without asking, and-"  
  
"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Gohan said, overwhelmed at her fervor but trying to make sense of her words. He waited until she took a deep breath and composed herself, slowing her breathing to a manageable pace. He took hold of her upper arms and looked deep into her eyes. "Now, tell me - those creatures have a special kind of attack, and otousan's in danger - is that what you're saying?"  
  
"Yes, yes!" gasped Theo, nodding her head emphatically and moved her gaze to the H'trch commander. He had a green, sickly glow about his entire body now, and was drawing his arms behind his head to increase his power - "Gohan, I must talk to Gokuu NOW, before it's too late!"  
  
The Saiyan gripped her upper arms tightly, causing Theo to gasp and look back at him. In a soft, deadly voice, Gohan continued, "And you knew that these creatures had this attack -- and you knew Vejiita was in danger, just as otousan - yet you did nothing to help him? Nothing?" His fingers dug cruelly into her arms, brusing her skin.  
  
Theo stared at him and felt a cold hand squeeze her heart as the bottom dropped out of her stomach. "Gohan - please - I - " She stared up at him, speechless.  
  
Trunks looked at Theo, his large blue eyes widened in disbelief. "You - you were going to let my father - die? How could you?"  
  
"Mama ..." Elyse whispered in disbelief. "Mama, you didn't ..."  
  
Ignoring the teenagers for the moment, Theo said, a slight tremor in her voice betraying her fear, "Gohan - please - if I don't get to your father soon, we're ALL going to die - "  
  
Gohan's gaze instantly became unfocused and cloudy for a moment, then cleared. His dark eyes held Theo's steadily as he said, "Otousan told me that it'd be okay if you went into his mind to help him. He says he trusts you." Theo heard Gohan's unspoken words very clearly - but I don't trust you.  
  
Theo's jaw dropped. "You - can talk to him? Like-"   
  
Gohan stared at her coldly. "Of course. Saiyans are slightly telepathic. Nothing like you, I'm sure, but we can still speak to each other." He gave her arm a gentle shake. "Start doing whatever it is you need to do quickly - that creature is going to let loose any time now ..."  
  
"Oh!" Theo exclaimed. She whipped her head around, narrowed her gaze and focused - and suddenly found herself inside Gokuu's mind, staring first at the H'trch and then glancing down at the prone body of Vejiita on the floor of the crater.  
  
Or what could be seen of his body, anyway. He wasn't dead, though - hurt, yes, but not dead. She could still feel his chi, vibrating and pulsing through the ground.  
  
Giving herself a mental shake, Theo chided herself angrily, thinking, get out of here before he calls you, fool - don't dawdle. Get on with it - set it and get out. She dove deeply into Gokuu's psyche, careful to touch only what was absolutely necessary, and placed the shield directly around his cerebral cortex.   
  
These creatures use a sonic/mental attack, Gokuu, she sent. You hear nothing, but suddenly feel incredible pain ... and once it penetrates your mind, you feel weak and disoriented. However, you will be able to resist it now. Good luck.  
  
Thank you, Theo, the Saiyan replied. He sent his own probes, questing at the entrance of her mind, wanting to make contact with her, to understand her a bit more -  
  
Horrified, Theo pulled back. No, Gokuu - goodbye.  
  
She hastily withdrew, pulling herself out of his mind as quickly as possible and back into her own tightly guarded fortress. She was safe there - no one could get in without her permission -  
  
--except ouji-sama, she thought, sullen. What a pity he isn't dead yet.  
  
********************************************  
  
The H'trch commander was amazed at the stubbornness of the softbodies in front of him. While the first one was a strong, capable fighter, he really had no chance once the commander decided to use his sonic attack. All that was left to do was finish him off, and he was that much closer to claiming those Time Lords as his own. With those women and their ship, he would have an unlimited power supply and be able to rule the universe.  
  
However, now the other strong softbody was planted directly in front of him - protecting the smaller one, no doubt, the commander thought sourly. Well, he can just have a taste of H'trch chi power as well. He will not be able to withstand my sonic blast and my chi blast together. These softbodies have no idea how to defend against mental attacks.   
  
And that is interesting, the rock monster mused as he wound up to complete his assault, as these individuals actually have some latent mental powers. It is a shame that we will not have the opportunity to study them - possibly, they would have been a good race to keep as an energy source. Ah, well - that's as it is -   
  
The commander finished drawing in the requisite power to obliterate the warrior in midair and the prone form underneath him, and threw it as hard as possible at the aliens. A feeling of smug satisfaction permeated his crust as he watched the sickly green hue envelop the alien and his comrade, becoming as bright as a supernova before flaring out of existence, leaving only -  
  
--the aliens behind?  
  
The H'trch blinked, not believing what his sensors told him was true. Not just one, but both aliens were still alive - the one on the ground was encased in a protective sphere, while the one floating in midair had just removed his crossed hands from in front of his head and chest, and was smiling now. This smile, though, was vastly different from that of others he had seen in the species - this smile was one of victory, an arrogant, insolent smile - one with no fear or trepidation about it. One, in fact, that was unnerving to see.  
  
Especially when the commander had just hurled his strongest chi sphere at the aliens.   
  
His eyes green and piercing, Gokuu reached inside himself and raised his power level, projecting more raw energy toward the H'trch. "When you attacked us, you made a huge mistake," Gokuu called, his energy crackling around his arms. "We warned you, alien - but you refused to listen."  
  
The H'trch commander felt the increase in energy and realized that this opponent was even more powerful than the last. "You will die, moron!" the commander shouted across the abyss, readying his psychic probe as he prepared for his sonic charge. "You and all those with you!" With that, he flung a blistering chi strike directly at the smirking alien hanging in midair as he continued to pull in energy for his sonic assault.  
  
And this alien, like the last one, disappeared in front of his eyes.  
  
What kind of power is this? the H'trch commander wondered, scanning the air around his body for signs of the warrior. How can I fight something I can't see?  
  
"You must be faster than that!"  
  
A blow to the side of his head threw the H'trch giant off balance, flinging him toward rock cliffs over a kilometer away. Ah, but now I have you, thought the great creature, sighting the Saiyan as he flew through the air. You cannot escape now.  
  
The H'trch opened his cavernous mouth a third time, the stench of brimstone and death flowing from it - and now Gokuu recognized the smell. It was the same odor that had assaulted him on Namek - the self-same fetidness that had surrounded the little tyrant at the end of their fight, the stench of evil and corruption. Sulfurous and dense and thick with emotion, it attempted to cloud his mind against its true purpose - to assault his psyche, leaving his body defenseless against a surprise chi attack from the rock creature.  
  
Not this time, alien.  
  
The burly Saiyan's gaze cut through the confusion and chaos of the H'trch's offensive, and instead targeted the cavernous, scarlet maw hundreds of meters in front of him. With a shout, he recalled Allyssa's advice -  
  
"If we're going to hurt them at all, we've got to get past their chi shield - and the quickest way to do that is to hit them right in the mouth."  
  
--and fired a continuous, concentrated beam of chi directly into the creature's mouth.  
  
********************************************  
  
The fallout from the explosion was tremendous.  
  
Not only did Gokuu fire at the creature, but Dron, Trunks, Gohan and Piccolo fired at the same time. There was no way of knowing which beam of energy eventually breached the chi shield of the H'trch, but at least one permeated its defense - and when that happened, it set off a chain reaction of sorts, resulting in the complete obliteration of the H'trch commander. Pieces of the H'trch rained across the battlefield, nearly indistinguishable from the ordinary rocks strewn about that portion of the desert.  
  
Except that some of the rocks were stained with green slime, rubbed smooth from decades of use.  
  
Gokuu shielded himself from the explosion, then dropped down to the earth to pull Vejiita from the middle of the impact crater. The smaller Saiyan was still unconscious, but breathing - a good sign, in Gokuu's mind. Flinging the prince across one massive shoulder, Gokuu placed two fingers against his forehead, disappeared from the site of the crater and reappeared in front of Theo and Elyse.  
  
Theo gasped and drew back, startled, staring up at Gokuu.  
  
"Otousan," Gohan said, frowning, pushing himself between Theo and Gokuu. "You're safe."   
  
"Yeah - thanks to you, Theo. It was your help that saved us," Gokuu said sincerely, smiling down at her.  
  
She swallowed, her eyes flashing between the unconscious form of the prince draped over his shoulder and the affable Saiyan's earnest face. Perspiration beaded on her forehead as she mumbled a reply. "Uh ... you're welcome, Gokuu. Is he ... is he ..."  
  
  
"Oh, he'll be okay," Gokuu said, bending his head toward the unconscious prince. "We just have to get him back to Bulma's, so we can give him a senzu. I don't have any with me - do you have any, Piccolo?"  
  
"No, I don't," the Namekian said, giving Theo an accusatory look. "No one else does, either. And I don't want to alarm you, Gokuu, but he was laying out there for an awfully long time. He needs attention - now."  
  
Elyse turned to look at Gokuu, and found herself staring into Trunks' eyes. The teen had a hard, resolved appearance around his mouth as he looked at her. "You didn't know about it, did you?" he asked softly.  
  
The younger Guardian was taken aback, both by his question and the fact that he was less than a quarter meter away from her. "Know ... know about what?" she repeated, blinking at him.  
  
He nodded to himself. "That's what I thought," he murmured, turning from her to stare at her mother with a look that Elyse couldn't describe, but one she knew instinctively she'd never want leveled at her.  
  
Gokuu opened his mouth to reply to Piccolo, but was drowned out by an enormous, blaring sound that came directly from the alien shuttle.  
  
All the armament - guns, lasers and laser cannons - were turning in synchronous motion toward their small group. Crackling energy leaped between twin antennas as the lasers were charged; plus a sickening, whining sound came directly from the belly of the shuttle as the ramp retracted and closed.  
  
"Oh, shit," Theo mouthed, her eyes enormous as her hands automatically fumbled for her TARDIS key. "We've got to get out of here."  
  
"Damn right," Allyssa agreed, her feet already on their way. "All right - everyone into the TARDIS!"  
  
Theo ran for the door, pushed the key in with shaking hands and flung herself inside, closely followed by everyone in their little group. The alien shuttle shook and groaned with the force of the stored energy it released when the H'trch second, Sh'mg, screamed the order to fire, fire, fire at the escaping band of thugs and monsters, the equivalent to human tears standing in her crystal eyes.  
  
"I will destroy you and your friends, Time Lord," Sh'mg rasped in grief, watching the TARDIS wink out of sight moments before her barrage connected with the desert. "I will hunt you down - find you - and destroy you. You will not escape." 


	20. Interlude 1

Time Warriors Chapter 20  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Theo was the first person inside the TARDIS, with Elyse right behind her. Both women wore a hard, urgent expression as they leaped together toward the central panel. Elyse rushed toward the navigator's position as Theo dove toward the primary power couplings, her hair fanning wildly in every direction.  
  
"Coordinates?" Elyse yelled over the general hubbub, her fingers flying over the keyboard.  
  
"Doesn't matter - anything - just do it fast!" her mother hollered back, her own hands a blur as she prepared the ship for liftoff. She reached over and smacked one of the buttons on the console. Immediately, the outside door swung shut. An angry bark from Piccolo revealed he had nearly been trapped while halfway through the portal.  
  
"Watch it!" the large Namekian growled, yanking his hand out of the way, the material of his gi sliding out of the way just in time. "You almost cut me in two!"  
  
Theo snorted and kept working, studiously ignoring the alien's heavy stare. Piccolo's eyes narrowed in barely controlled fury as he watched her, his long fingers curled into fists of rage. How dare you ...  
  
The holographic window suddenly winked open, revealing a floor to ceiling view of the desert landscape, complete with the H'trch shuttle looming dangerously in front of them. From their vantage point, the shuttle appeared enormous. Huge laser cannons looked as though they were floating in midair directly in front of the TARDIS - so close, in fact, that everyone in the control room could see the cannon's weblike energy circuits, now glowing a dull crimson.  
  
"All right, Elyse - punch it!"  
  
At the same instant, a barrage from the laser cannons hurtled toward the exposed side of the time machine, splashing a bloodstained cast across the desert scree. The warriors watched in horrified fascination as the fusillade was released from the shuttle's weaponry and tore across the plain, anxious to consume them -  
  
"GO!" Theo shouted, hitting the control panel. Just seconds before the energy bolts would have struck the vessel, the landscape shimmered and dissolved into waves and blurs of color - not unlike the colors whirling in Theo's and Elyse's eyes - as the central column of the TARDIS came to life, smoothly moving up and down, a gentle, low frequency hum murmuring from the center of the console.  
  
"Thank the gods," Theo breathed, bending her head and slumping over the control panel, "we're in the timestream."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Coordinates are all set, Mama," Elyse said brusquely, typing one last sequence on her keyboard. "We should be there in about two minutes." She looked over at her mother; Theo's face was partially screened by her hair, but the part that was visible worried the young Guardian. Theo's complexion was abnormally pale and wan, and dark circles threatened to engulf her eyes. As the older woman reached for another bank of controls, Elyse saw a slight tremor run through her mother's right hand.  
  
Theo saw it, too. She quickly keyed what was necessary and pulled her arm back, grasping the edge of the board until the tips of her fingers turned white. "Good ... good," she said tonelessly, more to herself than anyone else, her lips drawn into a thin line. "It'll be over soon."  
  
Elyse traded glances with Allyssa. The Gant was standing on Theo's left, effectively blocking any physical access to the psychic. Her expression was dark and forbidding and her face was flushed with agitation. A vein visibly pulsed in her neck as she scowled and gripped the butt of her blaster tightly in her hands. The gun's muzzle was pointed at the floor, but Allyssa's entire attitude screamed that she'd have no problem thrusting and firing the weapon into anyone's face who tried to attack Theo.  
  
Allyssa shook her head imperceptibly at Elyse, shifted her weight and glared at the rest of the people in the ship in general.   
  
Silence hung over the little group in the control room, silence that was thick and heavy and oppressive. Gokuu stood in front of the console, mesmerized by the dazzling hues dissolving and morphing into each other, completely oblivious to the tension surrounding them, Vejiita still draped across his shoulder.   
  
Once they were in the timestream, Gohan and Trunks turned their backs on the holographic wall, preferring instead to glare darkly at Theo. Gohan did not even bother to hide his distrust of the Guardian; he stood next to his father with his arms folded, unsmiling, and fixed her with a baleful eye. Trunks, on the other hand, seemed to be watching her thoughtfully, his gaze flickering between Elyse and Theo and back again.  
  
The teen's thoughts were in turmoil; angrily, he blamed the red headed woman, scowling blackly at her. Such a contrast, he thought to himself, catching Elyse in his peripheral vision. They look alike ... red hair, those eyes, athletic body ... but her daughter is beautiful. Caring. Loyal. And she doesn't want to kill 'tousan. I can sense it.   
  
But *she* does. Glancing over at Theo, the hostility he had been keeping at bay started to leak through his mental barrier, coloring his thoughts. Surprisingly, though, he found that once he pushed beyond the hard fist of anger sunk deep in his gut, genuine confusion prompted him to take another look at the older woman. She had tried to kill his father several times - and in fact, had tried to kill him, too, he mused harshly - but had left the others relatively unharmed. Why? He felt odd vibrations coming from her ... as much as he could sense chi, he felt something edgy, something that was threatened and afraid from her. She appeared to be a walking contradiction - angry, fearful and brittle, clinging desperately to the edge of something.   
  
Tousan's going to eat her alive when he wakes up, he realized, looking at Theo impassively. Especially when he finds out she helped Gokuu but not him ...  
  
Multicolored eyes flashed up and met his. For a breathless instant, Trunks felt himself surrounded by ideas tinged with violent emotion, the depth of which was frightening. Odd, incomprehensible images flooded through him - images that had feelings of fear, hatred and self-loathing inextricably linked to them, a tangled emotional web that was broad and deep in its scope. And in her psyche - somehow he knew that's where he was - his father was at the center of it all.  
  
He stared at her, his own mind spinning, compassion at her feelings of hopelessness overwhelming him. What ...?   
  
She broke contact, looking down and away. Keep your pity for those who want it, boy. Her thoughts echoed clearly in his mind, roughly pushing him out and away. I certainly don't need or want it. You and your kind are dead to me.  
  
His expression tightening, Trunks crossed his arms and gave her a level stare, unconsciously mimicking Vejiita's usual stance. He understood that type of rejection; had, in fact, seen it played out over and over again, usually when his father was covered in the debris of a shattered gravity room and his mother was trying to drag him out from under the rubble.  
  
Trunks opened his mouth to say something to her when the central column stopped moving. The background humming stopped; the lights in the column dimmed as it stayed in one position, straight and tall, its internal glow slowly dying.   
  
Theo tossed her head back and brushed her hair behind her ears, her eye color whirling and her expression grim. "Well. We're here. Everyone out. Ride's over."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Thumbing a switch on the panel, Allyssa watched as the holographic screen came to life again. Gone were the multicolored swirls of the timestream; instead, there was an interesting little scene playing out in front of them. From all appearances, there were in one of the high rises in Port City 4; the cityscape sprawled in the background, visible through the large glass doors defining the back wall of the room. Expensive, low furniture was scattered across the floor, creating an attractive, inviting appearance.   
  
But the current source of amusement was the blue haired woman standing in front of their vessel, screeching at the top of her lungs and pointing directly at them. At the same time, a smaller, bald man was obviously trying to placate her and assess how much true danger whatever had just appeared in front of them possessed.  
  
Or, in fact, if it WAS possessed.  
  
"What IS that thing? Where did it come from? Did you see what that just did?"  
  
It was obvious that her curiosity was getting the better of her terror as the woman gingerly walked up to the machine. Her face appeared enormous on the holographic screen as she tried to peer into its depths. "It sure seems like a curio cabinet - look, it even matches the one on the other side of the room. But I don't understand how -"  
  
"Bulma, what're you doing? Get behind me!" the smaller man shouted, pushing in front of the woman with a grimace. "I can't protect you if you won't let me do it - now stay back until we figure out what this thing really is!" He glared at the offending ship, as if it had personally declared all out war on him, and struck a defensive stance.  
  
"Ohayo - Bulma, Kuririn!" Gokuu called. He was standing in front of the holographic screen with Vejiita draped over one shoulder, waving at his friends with this free hand. "Over here, over here! Can you see us?"  
  
"Gokuu - Gokuu, they can't hear you," Elyse said. She walked over to the large Saiyan and smiled up into his face, placing her hand on his forearm. "It's like a closed window, Gokuu. They can't see or hear you, but you can see and hear them. It's safer for us inside the ship like this."  
  
"Oh ... right," Gokuu said, nodding ruefully as he turned to look at the holograph again. "I get it. Bulma has the kind where you can talk to people through it ... so I thought they were all like that."  
"Well, no, not all of them," Elyse laughed. "This one's not, anyway - it's only for seeing what's outside. You don't want to put yourself in danger when -"  
  
Theo hit another switch on the panel; there was an audible click from the far side of the room. "Sorry for interrupting everyone," she said crisply, "but - I've just opened the main cabin door, so you can go outside now. I'm sure that this is your stop, since Gokuu obviously knows that woman - so let's just say our goodbyes now." Nodding stiffly at the good-natured Saiyan, Theo said, "Goodbye, Gokuu. And good luck with ... eh ... whatever it is that you're doing." She purposely averted her eyes from the bundle hanging limply over his shoulder and narrowed her eyes, looking pointedly at the door.  
  
Elyse turned to look at her mother, baffled. Theo motioned curtly with her head for her to get out of the way, all the while keeping her gaze fixed on Gokuu and his burden. With a sigh, Elyse nodded at the amiable Saiyan, patted his massive forearm and moved to stand next to Dron and Allyssa.  
  
Gokuu turned from the holograph to regard Theo, confused, Vejiita's arms swinging gently behind him. "Goodbye? Wait - I don't understand, Theo. What do you mean, goodbye? You're coming with us, too, aren't you?"  
  
"Uh ... well ... no, I'm not, Gokuu," Theo replied quickly, drawing back even farther behind the console and still gesturing toward the door. "I just took you from where we were to your home. So, if you don't mind-"  
  
"Oh, yes you are," Gohan said in a quiet, deadly voice. He uncrossed his arms and stood in front of her, his face ablaze with a righteous, cold anger, his arms dangling loosely at his sides. "We're not going anywhere without you. I remember what Vejiita said - I'm certainly not going to allow you to try to kill anyone else, least of all any of my of my father's friends." The younger Saiyan turned his head toward Gokuu, his gaze black and piercing. "There are some things, 'tousan, that you don't know about her - things that we realized while you were fighting that rock monster." Nodding his head toward Theo with the outrage plain in his voice, Gohan continued icily, "Everything Vejiita said about her was true. This woman was going to let him die out there - die! You know what would have happened - we wouldn't have been able to bring him back. He would've stayed dead-"  
  
Trunks looked stricken at the thought. Gokuu turned toward the demi-Saiyan, consternation plain in his expression.  
  
"-so, if nothing else, I think she owes Vejiita an explanation."  
  
The bottom dropped out of Theo's stomach as her eyes widened in disbelief. Gods - he's going to force me to *wait* for him to wake up? So he can find out that I - oh, no, no, no, I don't think so -  
  
"I - what? I - owe - him something?" she burst out, incredulous, her jaw agape. Leaning on the console, she shook her head rapidly and snapped, eyes blazing, "You have no idea - I owe him something? I owe him nothing. Nada. Zilch. That man ruined years of my life, and there is no way in hell I'm going to-"   
  
"Theo!" Allyssa warned, pushing her back, watching Gokuu's uncomprehending face. "That's enough, Theo. No more." She looked around at the large, alien men crowding each other in the control room, and her heart sank. Gods, they have enough raw power between them to kill us a million times over, she thought, grimacing. We're just going to have to brazen this one out.   
  
"Gentlemen - this is not your call. You've been asked to leave, and I think you should do just that before something gets said that someone will regret." A formidable glower accompanied her words, making Allyssa appear fierce and protective.  
  
"Oh, we're leaving - there's no question about that - but we're taking her as well," Piccolo replied, his eyes glittering dangerously as he moved from his place against the wall, reached over and snagged Theo's upper arm. He dragged her, protesting, from behind the console to stand next to him, her forearm clasped in one powerful hand. "Gohan's right - she's coming with us. In fact, I'm sure that Vejiita would have insisted on it."  
  
"Take your hands off of me, you-" Theo snarled, trying to yank her arm back as her feet scuffed the floor.   
  
The kami leaned down and put his face next to hers, his breath tickling her cheek as he looked deep into her eyes. "Do that one more time and I'll make sure you're never separated from that Saiyan for the rest of his natural life," he murmured, low enough so only Theo heard. "And I don't need to tell you how long those people live."  
  
She stared back at him, fell silent and immediately stopped struggling, glaring. He could do it, too, she realized. It wouldn't take much on his part, either - kamis had access to things she certainly couldn't touch. And from the look in eyes, he'd enjoy it, too.  
  
Gokuu turned from the holograph and gave her a long, searching look, appearing bemused. "I don't want to force you to come with us, Theo, but it looks like we have to sort this out ... and I have to get Vejiita a sensu as soon as I can, no question about that. So we'd better go." With that, he turned toward the doorway and walked out. Grunting in assent, Piccolo dragged Theo unceremoniously by her arm and followed Gokuu out of the TARDIS.  
  
Glaring and looking grim, the remaining warriors fell in behind Piccolo, effectively cutting off any escape route Theo may have had. The Guardian cast one desperate look over her shoulder at her erstwhile traveling companions before she was hauled out the door of her own TARDIS and into the apartment, instantly vanishing from sight.  
  
A shout of surprise drifted through the open door. "Gokuu! Are you all right? What happened to -" cut off by the rapid succession of people out the door.   
  
Another muffled shriek sounded - and this one was definitely feminine. "Where - where are you all coming from?" screeched Bulma, completely taken aback. "How are you doing this - you're walking out of the furniture! And - Vejiita!" Her voice rose several decibels in volume as she struggled to stay with her husband. "What happened to -"   
  
Dron, Allyssa and Elyse were still in the TARDIS. "We'd better go after her," Dron said, gesturing toward the entrance with his gun. "There's no telling what those people will do to her, especially when that little guy wakes up."  
  
Elyse paled, thinking of the cold, angry set of Gohan's jaw and Vejiita's barely suppressed rage. "You don't think they'll-"  
  
"Oh, I think it's pretty clear what they're going to do," Allyssa replied through clenched teeth. She checked her blaster and scooped the TARDIS key off the console, stowing it in her pocket. "We just have to make sure that when they're done, there's enough of her left to piece together. Otherwise, your grandmother's going to be extremely miffed at me."  
  
Nodding, the three unlikely companions strode through the door of the TARDIS and into the apartment without looking back. 


	21. Bending Time ...?

"Gokuu, put him down over there – and Kuririn, go get him a senzu bean, and hurry up about it!"  
  
Bulma immediately took charge, directing Gokuu toward the sofa in the main living room and Kuririn to the kitchen, the former to put down his burden on the long, wide couch in the apartment and the latter to get their small bag of senzu beans. Her mind barely registered that even more strange people were spilling into her apartment, as her attention was completely focused on her unconscious husband.   
  
Gokuu carefully placed Vejiita on the couch, arranging him so that the smaller Saiyan could easily see everything when he awoke, supporting the prince's head with several small throw pillows, and stood back. The rest of the crowd from Theo's TARDIS straggled after Gokuu, pressing around the sofa, hovering near the prince. Gohan and Trunks pushed toward the head of the couch, standing just behind Bulma as she kneeled on the floor, very close to Vejiita's head. Piccolo dragged Theo by one arm and forced her to stand at the opposite end of the sofa with him, right in the prince's line of sight.  
  
And that was absolutely the last place on the planet Theo wanted to be. The moment Piccolo pulled her out of the TARDIS, Theo felt as though long, burning spikes had been pushed into the deepest part of her brain, trying to cleave it in two. There was something clearly wrong in that apartment, so much so that the Guardian clenched her teeth together and dug her nails into her palms so that she wouldn't scream. Whatever was there affected her on such a basic level that her first instinct was to leap back into the TARDIS and take everyone else with her.  
  
Everyone except the prince, of course. Theo had no compunction about leaving him to fend for himself.  
  
"Let go of me!" she hissed at the Namekian, struggling to free her arm from his grip, her eyes slightly wild as she pulled against him, panting. I have to get out of here-  
  
"What – and have you run back to that ship of yours before Vejiita wakes up? I don't think so," Piccolo rumbled, giving her arm a rough shake that made the rest of her body tremble. "You'll stay until we decide otherwise."  
  
"No, no, you don't understand," she protested strenuously, twisting to see the Namekian's face. "I can't stay – there's something terribly wrong here, I can feel it. It's -" and she shivered, her head shaking helplessly, "- it's horrible - it feels as though something is stabbing me from inside my brain - and it's not stopping – please, you've got to believe me, there's something wrong here -"  
  
"Listen to me, woman," Piccolo snarled. He pulled Theo close to his chest and leaned his head down to hers, his lips so close to her cheek that she felt his breath brushing across her lips, causing her to shrink back slightly. "There's nothing wrong here – everything is just as we left it. It's your own fault that you don't want to face Vejiita - you're the one who decided to betray him. Don't blame anyone else for your own mistakes."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bulma's voice cut through the general hubbub, slicing cleanly across conversations. " –but what happened to him?" she asked, upset, staring at Vejiita's face as she smoothed away invisible strands of hair from his forehead.  
  
Theo panted, gaping helplessly at Bulma. Pain lancing through her skull did nothing to stop a crawly, tingly sensation from shimmering up her spine; the longer she stared at the couple, the more she felt the vibrant psychic connection thrumming between them.   
  
What ... why am I feeling this? she wondered, very close to being overwhelmed with sensation. This type of connection with another person was something that was usually very personal and private, something that was almost impossible for other creatures, even sensitives, to pick up. Gods, I don't want or need to know anything else about ouji-sama -   
  
But apparently her body didn't care what her mind wanted to do - it simply continued doing what it did best, which currently was responding to psychic signals from other beings linked to it. Desperately, Theo took the information and shoved it into another part of her brain, determined to examine it later, knowing that she would NOT be able to properly analyze what she saw immediately.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"He was fighting this alien, Bulma, and then—" Gokuu's voice faded into the background as Theo's became more strident.   
  
"Look, I don't care what you're saying, I'm telling you there's something wrong!" Theo's voice rose as her protests became louder, vying with Bulma's decibel level. The Guardian twisted in Piccolo's grasp, still trying to pull her arm away as hard as she could, completely ignoring the scene at the other end of the room.  
  
"You don't understand, I can feel it, it's in my head—"  
  
Gohan turned to glare at Theo before returning his attention to Bulma and Vejiita. Had the younger Saiyan been able to reach Theo, he would have cheerfully choked her for being so disruptive at a time where the Saiyan prince obviously needed and deserved everyone's attention. Now his sensei, of all people, was forced to deal with that traitorous woman and they all were obliged to listen to her whine while Vejiita lay unconscious on the couch.   
  
"But that doesn't make any sense, Gokuu! He's fought plenty of aliens – I don't understand why—"  
  
Piccolo also glowered down angrily at Theo, then settled himself on his heels, tightened his grasp on her upper arms and pressed his seven foot frame against her smaller body and forced her to face the head of the couch, motionless. "I don't care what you say – you are going to STAY here and watch this, whether you want to or not," he hissed in her ear, his long fingers digging painfully into the soft skin of her arms. "And you will answer him when he speaks to you and asks you questions, whether you want to or not. Is that understood?"   
  
Pain sensations as keen as hot needles lanced through Theo's psyche again and again, dulling the impact of Piccolo's words. The only thing Theo knew for certain was that there was something drastically amiss, something so wrong that it affected the very core of her being. Something was trying to sift through and rip her very essence into a new design – and it was painful in the extreme. She threw her head back against Piccolo's chest, eyes wide, and writhed in the kami's grip, obviously in some kind of distress.   
  
"Please – please," she gasped, craning her neck to see his face, "you don't understand – whatever is here is tearing me apart – it feels as though it's killing me. Please – let me get back to my TARDIS – it's the only way I'll be able to figure out what's happening here – I can hardly think as it is – "  
  
"You're not dead, Guardian," he snapped, shaking her roughly. "At least, not yet."  
  
Bulma's impatient voice snarled from the other end of the couch. "Kuririn, hurry up – he needs that senzu NOW, not two weeks from now!"  
  
"Coming," the warrior called from the back of the apartment. "You father just wanted to see what—"  
  
A disturbing idea started to form in Piccolo's mind as he looked at Theo, frowning. If there was anything at all to what this woman claimed, then the problem would not simply be confined to her only - her daughter should be involved as well.   
  
Nodding, the kami threw a suspicious glare in Elyse's direction - which quickly faded to an incredulous stare the longer he looked at the teen. More than a little disturbed, Piccolo watched Elyse; a light sheen of perspiration covered her face, she was breathing rapidly through her mouth, her hands were clenching and unclenching reflexively, and her eyes kept darting back and forth. She was obviously in a great deal of discomfort, and just as obviously trying not to give her distress away, instead standing just behind the tall woman and her gray haired companion.  
  
But Piccolo knew. And if he knew, then there was a pretty good chance that the others would catch on soon, too – especially Trunks. That young man seemed to be fairly well attuned to her.   
  
What's wrong with the girl? he wondered, staring and scowling. She's acting as if she's in pain. Could they both be suffering from the same thing? He scowled, not knowing whether to trust his instincts – which told him that Theo and Elyse were indeed in great physical distress – or –   
  
"Get OVER here now, Kuririn – can't you move any faster?"  
  
"Okaasan, he's moving as quickly as he can," Trunks interjected, putting his hand on his mother's shoulder. She looked up at him for a moment, then turned her attention again to Vejiita. Kuririn slid to a stop next to Gohan, pushed Trunks aside and gave the senzu bean to Bulma.  
  
"About time," Bulma muttered, snatching it from the hapless Earthman and shoving it into Vejiita's mouth.  
  
"That should do it. He should be just fine now," Kuririn said, watching the Saiyan carefully.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Whatever this thing is, it's getting worse, Theo groaned silently, staring at the knot of people at the opposite end of the couch. It feels as though something is warping space arou—  
  
Theo went limp in Piccolo's grip as the stark realization of why she was in pain hit her. Eyes wide with dismay and shock, Theo stared blindly at the odd tableu near the end of the divan, her mind racing through all the possible reasons for the ache in her mind. Her hands trembled involuntarily while her mind kept coming back again and again to that terrifying, inevitable conclusion:  
  
Warping space ... ye gods, no, tell me they aren't doing that ...because there's only one way that people at this level of technology could warp anything in the space/time continuum, and that's by building something that warps the time continuum itself –   
  
Fear and pain now mixed together in quantities much too vast for Theo to control; she was going to burst if she couldn't get free of the horrid, twisted perversion this timestream had become. She tried to pull away again from Piccolo, but his hands were steady and hard on her forearms, making escape impossible.   
  
"Forget it, woman," Piccolo rasped, sliding his hands down her arms and forcing them tightly behind her, holding her wrists easily with one massive hand. "It looks like Vejitta is coming around – and I'm sure he'll have plenty of questions to ask you about those rock aliens. You're not going anywhere."  
  
"You just don't GET it –" Theo started, heated, when her quick indrawn breath and sudden silence caused Piccolo to glance at her, then in the direction of her stare.  
  
Vejiita's eyes suddenly snapped open; black and unfocused, they roved around until they centered on the closest thing in his line of sight. An uncharacteristic expression flickered in his eyes, one that was immediately answered by the blue-haired woman kneeling next to him.  
  
"Woman," he said hoarsely, "where are we?"  
  
"Inside the apartment – where else would we be?" Bulma responded immediately, looking at him as she gently touched his forehead, a slight smile on her face.   
  
Vejiita grunted and rolled, swinging his legs off the couch and pushing himself up to a sitting position, forcing her hand to drop away from his face. "How should I know?" he muttered, glaring at her. "There's nothing that—"  
  
"All right," a shaky feminine voice voice demanded, interrupting Vejiita. "Someone better tell me where the damn shattered time machine is before we ALL get blasted to infinity by this timeline." 


	22. Manipulators

An incredulous silence, thick and heavy, settled over the Briefs' apartment as Vejiita's head slowly turned in Theo's direction. Kuririn involuntarily took a step backwards; Gohan, Trunks and Gokuu simply stared at her as if they had never seen her before; and Piccolo was staring at her as if she had completely lost her mind.  
  
People normally did not interrupt Vejiita when he was speaking – in fact, the only person who interrupted Vejiita on a regular basis was Bulma, and lately even she was careful when that happened.  
  
"What did you say, woman?" Vejiita asked softly, his gaze intense and piercing as he rose to his feet. He silently offered his hand to Bulma; she pulled herself upright and glared at Theo, one hand resting lightly on Vejiita's forearm.   
  
Theo did have the presence of mind to drop her gaze and try to shield her mind as best she could, hoping he wouldn't attack immediately.  
  
Staring at the opposite end of the couch, Bulma saw a scowling woman with striking features and curly red hair held firmly in place by Piccolo. Had she looked a little closer, she would have seen perspiration dripping down the side of Theo's face; she may have also seen the desperate look in her eyes as she glanced furtively at Vejiita with eyes that continuously changed color.  
  
"Who IS this woman? Do you know her, Vejiita? And what are you talking about - 'shattered time machine' - hmm?" Bulma looked quite unfriendly, hooking both her thumbs into the belt loops of her shorts, standing with her arms akimbo, her eyes narrowed. "How do __you __know there's anything here that has anything at all to DO with a time machine?"  
  
Theo opened her mouth to reply, when another voice, strident and clear, cut her off and answered for her.  
  
"Don't be stupid - my mama's a temporal engineer, and she knows __plenty__ about time and time machines, much more than any human will ever know. If she says something's broken, then it's broken - and that's that!"  
  
__Now__ everyone turned to stare at the young woman who was barely visible between the wiry, gray haired man and the tall, grim faced, dark haired woman. She appeared to be a younger version of Theo, down to her wavy red hair and defiant, outthrust chin; but at the moment, it appeared to be only a tremendous effort of will that was keeping her upright. Elyse was visibly sweating and shaking, much like Theo, and was clutching Allyssa's arm for support.   
  
Bulma pushed herself away from Vejiita and walked toward the girl, staring at the teen as if she had suddenly grown another head. "And who in the hell are YOU? Vejiita, who ARE these people? Where did they come from?"  
  
"Wait, please, okaasan," Trunks said, catching her arm as she passed, a strained look about his eyes. "It's not her fault-"  
  
"Bulma—" started Gokuu, looking upset.  
  
At the same time, Theo leaned toward Vejiita as far as she could, given that Piccolo was still holding her upper arms, and repeated, "I SAID – someone had better tell me where the damn shattered time machine is before we all get blasted to infinity by this timeline. Ouji-sama," she added quickly, bobbing her head in obeisance, dropping her gaze as she recognized the expression on his face. __Damn, damn, damn - I have to watch my tone -__   
  
The Saiyan prince covered the distance between Piccolo and himself in less time than it took to think about it; unsmiling, he motioned to the Namekian to free Theo. Piccolo released his hold on her and stepped back, folded his arms and grunted, watching Vejiita carefully.   
  
Theo staggered slightly into Vejiita, catching herself on his arms. "Ouji-sama, please, you must believe me – I have to – erk – " The prince had pushed her hands away, and had grabbed her face in his left hand and was studying it as if it was an interesting new type of insect.  
  
"What's wrong with you, Guardian? You look – unwell." Black obsidian eyes stared at her; his gaze raked over her face and body, assessing her physical and psychological states in a long glance. He turned her face to the side, twisting her neck to the left, watching the sweat bead along her hairline and slither down the side of her cheek.  
  
Her hands came up automatically to clutch at his wrist as he turned her face to the right. "Ouji-sama," she gasped, "something is warping the time stream here, and I can't control …" As if to confirm her words, the world abruptly shimmered in front of her and expanded, his face and body becoming a grotesque parody of itself as another timeline tried to push through him and into her, focusing on her symbiotic link with her TARDIS, moving from a chaotic system into something more stable …   
  
Theo's eyes bulged and her muscles heaved. She abruptly threw up, retching uncontrollably, all over Vejiita.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Watching Theo vomit over Vejiita's chest, arms, and legs immediately dispelled any lingering doubts Piccolo had about her condition; in fact, he was now completely convinced that there was something terribly wrong around them – something that only the Guardian could feel. No creature would be foolish enough to willingly throw up all over the Saiyain prince, in front of witnesses, to boot.  
  
Most of those watching the tableau between Vejiita and Theo were completely stunned and more than a little nauseated – after all, as the strongest people in the world, they were used to seeing bodies exploding, bones being broken and limbs being rent from their owners. They were __not __used to watching people get sick; that was an admission of weakness that none of them would ever permit the others to know, let alone see. That, along with the stench, the incredible humiliation and disgrace, was enough to turn the stomach of the strongest warrior.  
  
Vejiita immediately released Theo and stepped back, an expression of shocked disbelief on his face as he stared down at himself, bile dripping into small puddles at his feet. Theo staggered backwards, her arms crossed protectively across her midsection, gasping for breath, muscles still twitching spasmodically.  
  
An expression of shame and horror ran across her face as she realized what just happened. "Ouji-sama … please, I am so sorry, I did not mean to—"  
  
"Shut. Up. Woman." Vejiita replied absently, almost automatically as he stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes dark and enigmatic.   
  
Theo closed her mouth and stared at the floor, breathing shallowly. The world had gone back to its normal three dimensions – which was good – but there was still some oddness, some wavering in her peripheral vision, which was not good. And it felt as if the pain in her head was expanding, trying to push its way into every conceivable place in her psyche. Plus NOW there was this persistent itching in the back of her mind – itching that wouldn't go away no matter how she tried to dislodge it …  
  
"Ugh … Vejiita, you'd better go change." Bulma curled her lip in disgust and stayed next to Trunks, raising her eyebrow at her mate. He scowled at her, turned and stalked out of the room, brushing by Dr. Briefs on his way out.  
  
Dr. Briefs raised his already considerable eyebrows as Vejiita pushed by him, wrinkling his nose at the odor that clung to his son-in-law. "Well, now…"  
  
Bulma turned her attention to Theo, eyeing her a little less suspiciously. The woman may be ill, but that still did not explain how she knew about her time machine, and it certainly did NOT excuse her earlier rude comments.   
  
Hmm…  
  
"Here." In a very businesslike, not-to-be-thwarted tone, Bulma walked over to Theo, gently grabbed one of her arms and tugged her toward the kitchen. "Come on. You need to get cleaned up, too. "  
  
Theo just stared at Bulma and allowed her to lead her off, feeling the whole situation was entirely surreal.   
  
"And you people should take care of that girl, too," Bulma called over her shoulder as she marched Theo into the kitchen. "She looks like she's going to collapse. Don't be stupid – put her into one of those chairs, and then get out here and get her something to drink."  
  
Theo tried to twist around to get a glimpse of Elyse, but Bulma gave her a firm push into the kitchen, and that ended that.  
  
"I—"started Theo, turning toward Bulma.  
  
The blue haired woman shook her head and eyed Theo critically. "No. Don't say anything yet. Rinse your mouth out first, wash your face – THEN we can talk." Bulma pointed her in the direction of the sink, showing her where all the hand towels and soaps were, then turned and sat down at the table.   
  
Theo blinked and nodded, realizing that arguing with Bulma would be futile; it would be faster to simply do what she wanted. She walked over to the sink, carefully washed her face and hands and rinsed out her mouth. Just being able to do that small thing – simply washing the acrid, bitter taste of the bile from her tongue – helped enormously, and made her feel like herself again.  
  
The pain in her head was constant, and she still felt nauseous, but her world was staying three dimensional. And given that she knew the time streams themselves were crossing each other, that really was quite amazing – but something that she knew was not going to last for very much longer.  
  
Patting her face dry with a large terrycloth towel, Theo smiled wanly and sat down at the kitchen table next to Bulma, thanking all the gods she could remember that it __was__ only Bulma at the moment. Later, she knew with a sinking heart, she knew she would have to explain her actions to Vejiita – and remembering Piccolo's tone and Gohan's expression, she certainly wasn't looking forward to that.  
  
"Now," Bulma started, tilting her head to the side and looking right at Theo, "tell me why you believe there's a time machine here in this apartment. And, specifically, why you believe that machine is shattered."  
  
Theo stared at Bulma, her eyes swirling a little, her expression unrevealing. "Um … well. I can feel certain things … because of who and what I am … and I knew the moment I stepped into this apartment that there was something wrong with the timelines, and that the problem was here."  
  
Bulma looked at her, frowning. "That doesn't tell me much at all. What do you mean, who and what you are? And what kind of things can you feel?" Bulma leaned forward, her entire manner intense. "If you want me to believe you, you need to tell me the truth. What exactly are you?"  
  
Theo looked deep into Bulma's eyes and sighed. __Gods … is everyone associated with Saiyans completely crazy?__ "I am – not human." A small smile tugged at the sides of her mouth as she gazed at Bulma. "But I'm sure you could tell that just by looking at me."  
  
Bulma nodded impatiently. "Of course. Your eyes. But what—"  
  
"My race is one that is relatively rare in this part of the galaxy. We usually don't travel out here." Theo sighed, shifting her gaze from Bulma's face to her own hands. "Among other things .. we are time sensitives. We build time machines, and we move among the time streams."  
  
"You – build – time machines?"  
  
Theo nodded, clasping her hands lightly in front of her, focusing on keeping the stabbing pain in her head under control. "Yes, we do. We build time machines, and we are sensitive to the striations in the time streams. That's how I knew something was wrong the moment we stepped into this apartment. Specifically –" and she fixed Bulma with a mild, unblinking stare –"you've constructed a time machine with NO temporal dampers. That's rather like inviting the entire neighborhood into your machine, instead of just the one time stream you really wanted. And … it's quite obvious that's the problem, especially given the episodes I've endured since I've been here."  
  
Bulma was flabbergasted. "You can feel all of that … just __sitting__ there? That's incredible! But – how do you know for certain that's the problem?"  
  
Sweat started to run down the sides of Theo's face again. "I … believe me, I __know__ that's the problem. If you show me your machine, I can fix the problem. In fact, if … if I'm permitted to do so, I'll get my tools from my machine, and I'll fix your machine that much sooner." __And gods, it couldn't be that much sooner for me …__  
  
Bulma raised one eyebrow suspiciously; it was plainly obvious that the other woman's condition was deteriorating again, but she had to ask. "What do you mean, 'if you're permitted?'"  
  
Breathing heavily, Theo explained, "Some … some of your people may not want to allow me back into my machine … alone …"  
  
Snorting, Bulma stood up and shook her head. "Well, that's not a problem. I can go with you—"  
  
"Woman, you are pathetic. I'll take her to get what she needs. You make sure she can get to that machine of yours easily."  
  
Both women looked up to see Vejiita walking into the room, wearing a new black jumpsuit and the same formidable scowl. Neither looked particularly happy to see him, but Theo knew that it was simply a facade on Bulma's part; that in fact, she was quite glad to see him.   
  
That was made crystal clear by the tingly sensation creeping across Theo's skin and into her groin the longer Bulma stared at Vejiita.   
  
__Damn this psychic link,__ Theo thought, flustered and upset, trying to shut them out. __There must be something I can do … some kind of barrier that will stop these feelings … I do NOT want or need to know this at all. This is what drove the ancient Gallifreans insane ... gods, no privacy at all ... and I can see why…__  
  
"Let's go, woman."  
  
Suddenly she felt herself unceremoniously dragged to her feet and propelled, stumbling, toward the door, with Vejiita holding her upper forearm in a tight, painful grip.  
  
That shut down the mind link rather effectively, closing it as if she had turned off a light switch. __Thank the gods that neither one of them finds the sight of him dragging me around to be very stimulating...I don't know what I'd do if they did ...__  
  
"You could have asked," Theo snapped up at the prince, her temper getting the better of her.   
  
He raised a sardonic eyebrow at her. "I did – but I only ask once. You know that. Now __move__." Vejiita chuckled darkly as he pushed her into the next room.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Allyssa and Dron watched Theo stumble into the room from the kitchen, trying to get her bearings, closely followed by Vejiita.   
  
"She doesn't look any better than before," Dron muttered to Allyssa.  
  
"Which 'she' are you talking about?"   
  
Dron glanced over at Theo, then down at Elyse, seated to the right of Allyssa. He shrugged and shook his head, acknowledging the irony in Allyssa's tone. "You're right - they both look about the same."  
  
"I don't understand," a young, forlorn voice murmured. "What's wrong with Elyse?"  
  
Both Dron and Allyssa turned in surprise to see Trunks looking at Elyse, his fine features drawn with concern. The young teen was standing next to Elyse's chair, his hair brushing into his eyes, looking down at her face, worried. Incredible - she looked so pretty, so vulnerable, so soft -  
  
Elyse's eyes were closed, her breathing was shallow, and perspiration beaded on her forehead. Allyssa smoothed her hand down the teen's cheek and looked at Trunks.   
  
"She's a time sensitive, boy, just like her mother. There's something here that's not right, and they're both suffering because of it. We can't feel it, but they certainly can – her mother felt it as soon as we left her TARDIS." She snorted softly, her eyes narrowing in anger. "But your green friend over there refused to believe her. Now they're both ill – but at least it seems that your father is going to allow Theo to fix whatever the problem is. Look." Allyssa nodded curtly toward the TARDIS.   
  
Now Vejiita was standing at the doorway of the TARDIS, waiting as Theo walked in front of him with a large bag in her hand.   
  
"Those are her tools," Allyssa explained. "She's going to repair whatever the problem is with your time machine."  
  
"But we don't have a time machine." Trunks looked over at the warrior woman, clearly puzzled.  
"Maybe not one you know about, boy. But if she's bringing those things, she's going to be fixing something."   
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Theo looked over at Vejiita and shrugged, wincing, then slowly twisted her head around until she saw the small platform in the corner of the room. "That's it." Nodding, she walked over toward the platform, approaching it warily, almost as if it was alive. __Can't be too careful around these things, especially when you're not sure what they're going to do next …__  
  
"Well?" Vejiita demanded, walking behind her, scowling. "Can you repair the machine? I actually remember Kakarotto complaining about this thing, saying that he didn't feel right around it … so perhaps what you're saying is actually true."  
  
The pain increased the closer she came to the apparatus. "I … I don't know, ouji-sama. I'm sure I can … I just have to find the source." Blinking and breathing faster, Theo stared at the platform and realized the equipment wasn't there – the transmitter was probably embedded in the floor, but the actual temporal gear had to be somewhere else. "Is there a computer terminal used for this station?"  
  
"Hmm? Why, yes, of course," replied Dr. Briefs. He had been sitting by the computer, idly working with several different programs while Theo had been talking with first Bulma and then Vejiita.   
  
"Oh, good. Then … this is the terminal?" Theo was already pushing Dr. Briefs out of the chair in her eagerness to get to the computer. She didn't know it, but tears started to run down her cheeks, unchecked, from the pain and the psychic disruption the temporal phasing error caused.  
  
"Well, it – oof!—certainly is," Dr. Briefs replied as he stumbled out of the way, bewildered at the speed in which Theo attacked the computer and distressed at her obvious pain and suffering. He frowned his displeasure at Vejiita, but only had a cool eyebrow raised in his direction.   
  
"Excellent," Theo panted. Looking around, Theo saw exactly what she expected next to the computer's central processing unit – the complete housing assembly for the power supply. __There it is - that's it__ - and without another thought, she opened her toolbag, took out a small crowbar and cracked open the housing along the seam of the welded joint, exposing the internal workings of the power supply, bathing the console area in a strange blue light.   
  
Fortunately, Dr. Briefs had just turned around to pick up a pack of cigarettes and matches that had fallen from his pocket - otherwise, he surely would have protested the instant Theo brandished the crowbar at the assembly. As is was, he turned around with a jerk when he heard the __*crack*__ of the broken metal, peeling apart as easily as the skin of a grapefruit.  
  
"That's it, that's it – oh, kami, look, look! – you had the transducer upside down, __there's__ a BIG part of the problem, that's just so EASY to fix –" Babbling as she worked, Theo grabbed each end of the transducer and __pulled__ it straight from the board, not even bothering to cut the power.  
  
Meaning, of course, that she plunged her hands into the temporal fields unshielded. And this time, both Dr. Briefs and Bulma saw what she did, as Bulma chose that moment to walk into the great room from the kitchen.   
  
"Are you INSANE?" Bulma screeched, lunging at Theo, grabbing for her arm and trying to dislodge her from the timestream. "You'll be KILLED! Vejiita, how could you allow her to DO that? Get her AWAY from there – don't let her touch those things, you idiot – those are the timestreams –"  
  
"She's a time sensitive, baka – she's the only one around here who COULD touch them." Vejiita easily blocked his mate's headlong dash toward Theo, holding her arms so that she could watch Theo work, but not touch her.  
  
An audible sigh of relief came from the other side of the room. Bulma turned to see Elyse stirring in her chair, a vague smile on her face, her eyes half open, as she breathed to the people around her, "Mama's fixing the time machine, isn't she?"  
  
"Yes, dear, she is." Allyssa stroked the side of her face, soothing her.   
  
"What's she doing right now?"  
  
Theo reached inside the power supply and redirected the flow, pushing the streams into small arcs with her own hands, twisting the strands of time together. Her skin had become shimmery and transluscent, almost a pale blue; her face, too, reflected that otherworldly hue, giving her an ethereal appearance, something not quite human.  
  
__Mama's trying to find the way OUT of here without making the Saiyan suspicious, Elyse...__  
  
The timestreams were made up of many different voices, all singing melodies and harmonies, point and counterpoint, consonance and dissonance – and out of these, Theo was searching for that one still, small voice, the familiar, the ancient –  
  
__Theo … Theo, is that you? __  
  
__Olean, __Theo responded, continuing to work on the machine in front of her, almost crying with happiness, __Olean, it's me.__ Hope flared in her chest again, vain hope for rescue from her hellish circumstances.  
  
__Child, what are you doing? Sticking your hands into the timestreams with no protection? You're bending everything out of shape – you're going to get yourself killed if you keep doing that, and your mother won't be happy at all …__  
  
Her mind was singing in triumph as she listened to the farsensor chide her.__ I had to, Olean. This – thing – was wrong. It was warping everything around it. I had to fix it. And I – I'm in big trouble, Olean. I hoped you'd be watching the streams …. I left a distress beacon on the TARDIS…__  
  
__Ah … __The presence expanded into Theo, gently wrapping itself around recent memories, reading them, then withdrew. It was difficult to tell with Olean - she was always so methodical and calm - but Theo thought she detected an edge to her, one that verged on panic. __You are not in a good situation.__  
  
Theo closed her eyes, blotting out the machinery and cold flame in front of her. __No. It is … very bad.__  
  
__I will tell your mother and Stranna. I do not know what we will be permitted to do, but … we will do what we can to help you.__ Olean's prescience, given to her as an unintentional mental gift by Freeza, touched Theo as the woman withdrew from their mental link. __ I must leave - your watcher will be awakened by much more of this. But know that it is not over, child. You must fight for what is yours, but you must also accept responsibility for what was. Only by doing both will you eventually become free.__ And she broke the connection, dissolving again into the timestreams.  
  
Theo's soul cried, a deep, heartfelt sob __…Olean … take me home … I want to go home … oh gods, don't leave me and Elyse here with him … please …__  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* 


End file.
